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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



The Hope and Resurrection 
of the Dead 

Both of the Juft and the Unjuft. 



PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY 
A REASON OF THE HOPE THAT IS IN YOU 



By 
ALLEN W. STUTENROTH 

4743 Langley Avenue 
Chicago, 111. 



ESCHATOLOGY 

"That Chrisl may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, 

being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to 

comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and 

length, and depth, and height; and to know the 

love of Chrisr, which passeth knowledge, 

that ye might be filled with all the 

fulness of God,"— Eph. 3: 14-18. 



PRICE, $1.50 NET 



Published by the Author 



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Copyright 1911 



Allen W. Stutenroth 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



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CI.A295013 



CONTENTS 



Chapter Page 

1 — Details of the plan of salvation — The Creation — Angels — Demons — Cause of 

prayer — Man and his make-up — Sin and its result 16 

2 — The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implication, that any 
part or spark of God has been or is communicated to every or any human 
person either at conception or at birth 28 

3 — The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implication, that man 
ever had or now has natural immortality, either of the spirit, of the soul, 
or of the body 30 

4 — The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implication, that either 
the spirit, the soul, or the body is or can be a living conscious entity inde- 
pendent of the other two parts 33 

5 — The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implication, that judg- 
ment takes place immediately after death either in a heaven above the 
earth or in a hell of torment beneath the earth 35 

6 — The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implication, that the good 
go immediately after death to a heaven of happiness and restful bliss 
above, or that the wicked go immediately after death to a hell of torture 
or remorse of conscience or anguish of soul 38 

7 — The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implication, that either 
the wicked or the good receive their reward for the deeds done in this 
life immediately after death 40 

8 — The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implication, that any 
one human except Jesus has ever been in Heaven above, or will ever be 
given an abode there; that any part of human man ever has been there, 
or ever will get there 51 

9 — The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implication, that judg- 
ment begins immediately after death, after this present life 57 



Chapter Page 

10 — The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implication, that the 
wicked heathen who have never heard of Christ are to be favored by God 
because of their ignorance, or that they shall be eternally lost 60 

11 — The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implication, that chil- 
dren who have not reached the age of accountability at death are lost, or 
that they go to a heaven above, or to a "spirit-world" of any kind C3 

12 — The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implication, that all 

who reject Christ in this life are lost 61 

13 — The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implication, that death, 
which is common to all men of this present life, is the end of all proba- 
tion, the end of all hope of salvation '. 66 

14 — The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implication, that only 
in this present life is there a hope of being made a partaker of the Ever- 
lasting Life '. 67 

15 — The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implication, that there 
is absolutely no hope of salvation beyond the grave for those who have 
never heard of Christ 71 

16 — The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implication, that death 
after this present life is the close of any further growing in the wisdom, 
knowledge, or grace of God, or that when a man dies, either the soul or 
the spirit of the man leaves the body to dwell in a spirit-land in a con- 
scious and intelligent state of being 76 

17 — The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implication, that in 

death theve is a living intelligence or consciousness 83 

18 — The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implication, that the 
dead can either see, hear, taste, smell, or feel while in the death state; 
or that either the spirit, soul, or body of a dead man has attributes 85 

19 — The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implication, that either 
the spirit or the soul of a man has weight, or. that they ever leave the 
regions of this earth, or that they are separated from the body when death 
takes place or at any time after death 88 

20 — Three kinds of life — The natural and its abuse — The supernatural and its 
influence — The preternatural and its influence — Angels and demons and 
their relations to us — The spirits in prison 92 

21 — The natural man — His disposition to put off doing right — The influence of 

the preaching of the truth 116 

22 — The true gospel — Its meaning — What it will accomplish — Wicked men and 
the terrible times of trouble in which we now live — The visible signs of 
the soon return of our Lord Jesus, to reign as King over the earth 123 

23 — The ministry of the Spirit, the ministry of healing, preaching the Word and 

prayer for others, go hand in hand 128 



Chapter Page 

24 — The converted 142 

25 — The Church — The Bride of Christ 147 

26 — In my Father's house are many mansions 152 

27 — Restoration of the Jews — The heathen our inheritance 157 

28 — Sanctification — The old man put off — The new man put on 1G0 

29 — Baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire — Love 168 

30 — Resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust 181 

31 — The lost — The hope of the wicked dead 190 

32 — The hidden mystery of Christ — Character of the servant of the Lord — Christ 

in you the hope 199 

33 — Glad-tidings of the Kingdom of God 218 

34 — Paradise 226 



Go all 

wbo love our 

Xoro 3esus in 

sincerity ano in trutb, 

ano wbo oesire to stuop. to sbow 

tbemselves approved unto <3oo, laborers 

tbat neeo no to be asbameo 

rtgbtlp. oivioing tbe Wore 

ot Grutb, tbte worfe is 

most lovingly 

oeoicateo. 



GROUNDWORK. 

This book will be welcomed by those who are honest, open 
to conviction, ready to stand alone like Daniel in honor of the 
truth, and who are not afraid to be ostracized for standing by 
the truth (Matt. 6:24-34). It is not a theory. It contains facts 
too plain to be overthrown by any scientific research. You 
can do nothing to hurt these facts (2 Cor. 13:7-9) because 
they are rooted and grounded in God's love and Word. , His 
Word is truth — John 17:17. Truth has no shades or degrees 
of comparison. It needs no one to defend it. Jesus said to His 
disciples, "If ye continue in my WORD, then are ye my dis- 
ciples indeed ; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall 
make you free" (John 8:31-32), (John 14:6), (John 8:36). 

Owing to failure in securing the service of a competent and 
unprejudiced Christian, with a love for the truth regardless of 
sectarian doctrines, to revise this volume, no attempt has been 
made to make this work a dignified or a literary effort. All 
the writer cares to do is to put into circulation some truthfully 
stated facts given in plain language, however crude the ex- 
pressions, in order that the thought may be studied. The 
writer wants to express sense so that he may eliminate some 
of the nonsense other people have expressed. In trying to 
eliminate some of this nonsense the writer has operated along 
lines of the least resistance. 

The most irresistible fact in the world is the Word of God. 
The obvious letter of its testimony is most emphatically, and 
everywhere, that "The wages of sin is DEATH, and the gift 
of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
No attempt will be made here to define DEATH or LIFE. 



ihe Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



Every reader can determine for himself the plain meaning of 
these words; and happily, man is so constituted that the un- 
lettered disciple of Christ is quite as competent to determine as 
the learned theologian — perhaps better able to determine cor- 
lectly; for when one's mind has been trained to speculate, one 
reads one's system of speculation into the letter of God's Word 
and bends the Word to suit one's theory. The Scriptures are 
of no private interpretation. They interpret themselves. 

Men everywhere are calling upon God to show them deeper 
depths and higher heights of His plan of Salvation and of His 
purpose in Christ ; but when God proceeds to use an obscure, 
despised, weak worm of the dust, a babe to whom God has 
revealed some of the hidden mysteries of Christ and tells that 
one to let his light shine before them, they invariably remark, 
"Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?" 
And they cast him out. They reserve the right to tell God 
whom He should use to teach them ; for they are learned, wise, 
mighty men among the people, and none but mighty men, 
wise, prudent men can teach them, i Cor. 1 \2j. "God re- 
sisteth the proud, and «giveth grace to the humble." 

Our Lord wisely exclaimed, "I thank Thee O Father, Lord 
of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the 
wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes." Paul 
frequently warned the disciples, "Beware lest any man spoil 
you through philosophy and vain deceit and after the tradi- 
tions of men ;" "I fear lest by any means, as the serpent be- 
guiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be cor- 
rupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." 

It is not a pleasant task to throw one's self across the path 
of any popular sentiment, to incur the sincere pity or the 
reproach of Christian brethren, by opposing a doctrine which 
they have been taught from childhood to regard as truth ; to 
meet the sneers of the learned leaders of "orthodox" doctrine, 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 



or the criticism of theologians, or the silence of wise conserva- 
tives who will listen to nothing not authorized by tradition or 
the voice of the Church, but who would in an underhanded way 
try to throw a bushel over the candle that would shine forth 
the truth of God's Word. However, come what may, I cannot 
hesitate to protest against those things that have done so much 
to encourage disbelief in the Bible, and in Jehovah. Regardless 
of my obscurity, in my humble way, I must be loyal to the 
Bible and do what I can to stop the mouths of infidels, scoffers 
and skeptics who "subvert whole houses, teaching things which 
they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake," and to let my light shine 
to the honor of Jesus my Life-Giver and to make use of the 
simple ways of thought God gave me while I studied His Word 
in solitude, hoping this humble volume, written in the spirit of 
power, and of love, and of a sound mind, will be used of Him 
who knows how to employ weak and imperfect means for the 
accomplishment of His gracious purposes, through Him who 
gave His life a ransom for every man and woman, to be testi- 
fied to every man and woman in due season. 

FOUNDATION STONES. 

• 

"Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which 
is Jesus Christ." i Cor. 3:11. 

"The wages of sin is DEATH, but the gift of God is ETER- 
NAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6 123. 

"He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because 
he HATH NOT BELIEVED in the WITNESS that God hath 
borne concerning His Son : and the WITNESS is this, that 
God gave unto us ETERNAL LIFE, and this LIFE is in His 
Son. He that HATH the Son HATH the LIFE, he that 
HATH NOT THE SON HATH NOT the LIFE."— 1 John 
5:10-12 R. V. 



10 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



"The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers 
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth : for the Father 
seeketh such to worship Him." John 4:23-24. 

SPECIFICATIONS. 

In writing concerning the things of the Christian life it 
might be well to begin by giving the Bible definition of a dis- 
ciple of Christ. 

The word disciple signifies one who is a learner, a student, a 
follower and lover of a certain leader. 

Jesus gave us the following description of His disciple: 

"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him 
will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But 
whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny 
before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am 
come to send peace on earth : I came not to send peace, but a 
sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his 
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter- 
in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be 
they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother 
more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or 
daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that 
taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of 
me" (Matt. 10:32-38), (Luke 14:26-33). 

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and 
take up his cross, and follow me" (Matt. 16:24). 

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye 
have love one to another" (John 8:31-32; 13:35; 15:8). 

As Christian disciples we are expected to search the Scrip- 
tures daily to see whether things are so (Acts 17:11), we are 
expected to study them (2 Tim. 2 115), to learn of Christ (Matt. 
11:28-30), to show our faith by our works (Jas. 2:14-18), to 
let our light shine before men, to keep the Bible as the daily 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 11 



rule of faith and practice and to love God with all our heart 
(person), soul, mind and strength and our neighbor as ourself. 

The Bible is a book which contains a record of the sayings 
and works of God, Satan, the angels, the demons, good men, 
and evil men ; and it was given to us by God through "holy men 
of God who spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit," 
that we may be led to Christ and be saved, not only from sin, 
but saved also from the "wages of sin" — death. All Scripture 
given by inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for re- 
proof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness : that the 
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all 
good works. And it is a sure word of prophecy : whereunto ye 
do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a 
dark place, until the day (of Christ) dawn, and the day star 
(Christ) arise in your hearts. 2 Pet. 1:19-21. A right under- 
standing of the Scriptures not only adds to the wisdom of the 
wise, but it also "maketh wise the simple." Ps. 19:7-14. 

Many passages of the Bible and strong expressions have been 
repeated in this work in order to keep certain truths before the 
reader that he may be the better able to grasp the teachings of 
the Bible, that have to do with the resurrection of the dead. 

Our first step in understanding the teachings of the Bible is 
to be plastic and unprejudiced in mind and spirit : for we cannot 
know God's will unless we read the Bible with unbiased minds 
and leave behind all pre-conceived notions and theories which 
men commonly read into the letter of God ? s word; besides we 
must have a desire and a real love for the truth before we can 
see it. We must honor the teaching of all who "hold the truth 
in love" and are honest in their convictions, regardless of the 
sect to which they belong. But we are told to hold fast only 
that which is good. Paul says : 

"If any man teacheth a different doctrine, and consenteth 
not to sound words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, 



12 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is 
puffed up, knowing nothing, but doting about questionings and 
disputes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil 
surmisings, wranglings of men corrupted in mind and bereft 
of the truth, supposing that godliness is a way of gain." 

If you will go to the Word of God with an absolutely open 
heart and mind, neither of which has been previously impressed 
with conviction or prejudice, you will get a perfect photograph 
of Divine Truth, and you cannot get it any other way. 

Do not wrest the Scriptures, or take them out of their set- 
ting, or strain a point to make them agree with your idea of 
how they ought to be; but let us obey the injunction to 
"PROVE ALL THINGS; hold fast that which is good" (i 
Thes. 5:21), (Gal. 6:1-6), and set aside all our theories and 
the precepts and doctrines of men, and be determined to deal 
with cold facts, with that wisdom which is attained through 
reason and Revelation and which no man can gainsay nor 
resist; and then let us have the courage to live out and to 
speak out our convictions. 

"When for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need 
that one teach you again which be the first principles of the 
oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk and 
not strong meat. For every one that useth milk is not skilled 
in the Word of righteousness; for he is a babe. But strong 
meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who 
by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both 
good and evil." Heb. 5 :i2-i4. 

"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there 
be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined 
together in the same mind and in the same judgment." 1 Cor. 
1:10-13. 

The burden of the primitive disciples of Christ was "we 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 13 



speak that we do know." John 3:11. ''We have received, not 
the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God ; that we 
might know the things that are freely given to us of God, 
which things also we speak." 1 Cor. 2:11-14. Let us not 
speak "that we do believe;" let us speak "that we do know." 
The things of God knoweth no man except it be revealed by 
the Spirit of God. 

"For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not 
cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with 
the EXACT KNOWLEDGE of His will in all wisdom and 
spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the 
Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and 
increasing in the EXACT KNOWLEDGE of God; strength- 
ened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all 
patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto 
the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the 
inheritance of the saints in LIGHT : who hath delivered us 
from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the 
Kingdom of His dear Son : in whom we have redemption 
through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." 



14 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

" 'Tis one thing, friend, to read the Bible through, 
Another thing to read to learn and do ; 
'Tis one thing, too, to read it with delight 
And quite another thing to read it right. 

"Some read it with design to learn to read, 
But to the subject pay but little heed; 
Some read it as their duty once a week, 
But no instruction from the Bible seek. 

"Some read to bring themselves into repute, 
By showing others how they can dispute ; 
Whilst others read because their neighbors do, 
To see how long 'twill take to read it through. 

"Some read the blessed Book, they don't know why 
It somehow happens in the way to lie; 
Whilst others read it with uncommon care, 
But all to find some contradiction there. 

"One reads with father's specs upon his head, 
And sees the thing just as his father did ; 
Another reads through Campbell or through Scott, 
And thinks it means exactly what they thought. 

"Some read to prove a pre-adopted creed, 
Thus understand but little what they read ; 
And every passage of the book they bend 
To make it suit that all important end. 
Some people read, as I have often thought, 
To teach the Book instead of being taught." 

— (Anonymous). 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 15 

This I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call 
heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things 
which are written in the law and in the prophets ; and have hope 
toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall 
be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. 
And herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void 
of offence toward God and toward men. 

For this WAY I am greatly indebted to my esteemed friend 
and teacher, Dr. W. D. Lowder, Sr., and to Dr. F„ E. Yoakum, 
both of Los Angeles, Cal., and to the following worthy au- 
thors: Benjamin Wilson, Robert Young, M. Grant, J. H. Pet- 
tingell, Andrew Murray, and other mighty men of God 
through whom God by the Holy Spirit gave special leadings, 
and who are directly or indirectly quoted by me. 

Allen Stutenroth. 



"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one 
receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every 
man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now 
they to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I 
therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that 
beateth the air; but I keep under my body, and bring it into sub- 
jection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, 
I myself should be a castaway." — Paul. 



16 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER ONE. 

DETAILS OF THE PLAN OF SALVATION. 

Throughout the history of the Church, both ancient and mod- 
ern, and from the beginning of human time, Satan has sought to 
make "splits" in the ranks. He has succeeded in his efforts and 
continues to keep two sides upon which men throughout the ages 
have laid the foundation stones of their several beliefs, theories, 
and religious convictions. 

Before we discuss these sides let us make a general survey of 
the beginning of things of the earth so that our minds will more 
easily grasp the present-day religious ideas and compare them 
with the true facts as they are presented in the Bible. Let us 
notice first of all that Christ was in the very beginning with 
Jehovah. As the Scriptures say: "In the beginning was the 
Word and the Word was with (the) God, and the Word was (a) 
God" (literal translation from the original Greek Mss. John 
1:1). 

The word God in both cases is from the Greek theos, which 
is equivalent to the Hebrew el, which signifies a mighty one. 
Therefore, in the original Greek text we have the definite article 
before theos to signify Jehovah, the Mighty One, and the indefi- 
nite article, rather no article at all, just the word theos, which 
signifies Christ, a Mighty One. There are other mighty ones be- 
sides Jehovah and Christ, but these are known to us as angels. 
No doubt all the mighty ones were present at the creation of 
man when Jehovah said, "Let us make man, etc." 

Now let us divide the Creation into two periods, as a matter 
of convenience. First — that period in which God made the hea- 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 17 



vens and the inhabitants thereof-. Second — that period in which 
God made the earth and its inhabitants. 

From the Bible we learn that the inhabitants of the heavens 
are called angels, or created spirit sons of God, they being spirits. 
These angels were all good in the beginning. They were under 
the rule of archangels of whom Lucifer, now Satan, was chief. 
These angels were not created immortal — deathless — neither were 
they created mortal — dieable. They were created free moral 
agents with power to will to do or not to do; and they were 
placed upon their own honor to obey or disobey certain laws of 
Jehovah, that they might attain unto deathlessness or death, im- 
mortality or mortality. 

Because of selfishness and pride and diobedience to law, 
Lucifer fell from the favor of God with a host of angels who 
were corrupted by him, and they became wicked spirits, mortal, 
dieable, subject to death. Lucifer, who was the highest angel in 
heaven, and next in rank to Christ, is now the devil; while the 
angels who fell with him are the demons with whom we must 
deal in this present evil age and because of whose oppressions 
prayer has become a regrettable necessity to the well-being of the 
human race. These demons are tantalizing men all the time in 
order to get men to do evil and to keep them from attaining unto 
Everlasting Life. But the good angels who did not disobey God 
are always near us to protect us from the onslaughts of the 
demons according to the measure of reverence and faith we have 
in God. They are the "ministering spirits" through whom 
Jehovah protects us by night and by day, keeping us from injury 
and distress, sorrow, sickness, etc. They ascend and descend 
between the Father's throne and the earth, and are God's mes- 
sengers of mercy who carry the prayers to the Father and deliver 
the answers to men. Because of the demons we must con- 



18 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

tinually watch and pray lest we enter into temptation and com- 
mit sin, the wages of which is — DEATH. 

The demons are the "oppressive spirits" and they not only 
cause sin, sickness, sorrow, trouble and distress, but they rule 
the darkness, tempt men to do wrong, cause destruction to go 
before a storm or tempest, cause epidemics and pestilences, and 
every form of evil in man and beast, and interfere with the 
progress of the good angels w T hom God sends to deliver answer 
to prayer. They are spoken of in the Bible as those "angels 
which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation," 
whose abode is Tartarus, where God has reserved them "in ever- 
lasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great 
day," when Christ and the saints will condemn them to death, 
and they will be destroyed with everlasting destruction. It was 
these demons and evil spirits that Christ commissioned His dis- 
ciples to cast out (Matt. 10:8) (Mark 16:17). Paul says: 

"We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principali- 
ties, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this 
age, against wicked spirits in heavenly places." 

No doubt these demons were among those who witnessed the 
creation of man and therefore know exactly how to depress, op- 
press, suppress, and possess the spirit of man, to torment and 
kill him. No doubt they once had charge over this earth before 
Adam, their office having been taken from them because of their 
disobedience and fall; and when God gave the dominion to Adam, 
his (Adam's) fall had to be accomplished so that Satan could 
wrest the dominion from Adam and regain for himself the con- 
trol of the earth. Adam was once the god of the animals and 
all lower forms of life and ruled them so that they all lived in 
absolute peace and love and harmony with each other. But when 
Satan took the dominion away from Adam and became himself 
the "god of this world," then the animals became wild and dan- 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 19 

gerous and lived in hatred and discord, and all forms of life be- 
came contaminated with evil. 

God, who is All Wise, had a plan conceived in His mind long 
before the heavens and the earth were made, long before the 
morning stars sang together and the Sons of God shouted for 
joy; and the fall of the angelic hosts and the fall of man was not 
a mere accident, neither was it God's fault that they fell; but it 
was one of the outworkings of God's purpose or plan, "that in 
the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His 
grace, in His kindness towards us, through Christ Jesus." 

When God made man out of the dust of the ground, he was a 
dead concrete object, inanimate, fashioned in the image of God, 
after His likeness — an exact picture of Him. He therefore was : 

1. — Body flesh and bone. ^ 

2. — Soul animal senses. > all inanimate. 

3. — Spirit . . conscience. 

This inanimate body was an organized body with eyes that 
could not see, ears that could not hear, a nose that could not 
smell, a tongue that could not taste, a heart that could not pul- 
sate, lungs that could not expand, limbs that could not move and 
blood that was cold and lifeless. This mass of dead matter was 
called a dead soul. It was not yet a living man since it was not 
yet energized. There was no life in it. This dead soul was ex- 
actly the same as a dead soul is today, except that it had a more 
perfect formation. 

When we look at a dead man we notice at once that he does 
not breathe. So was Adam in the dead soul state. But God 
breathed into him the breath of the spirit of life and man be- 



20 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



came a living soul. From that time on every living man is con- 
stituted as follows : 

1. — Body flesh and bone. 

2. — Soul animal life- — senses. 

3. — Spirit conscience, disposition. 

4. — Breath air, atmosphere. 

In other words a living man can be properly said to be con- 
stituted : 

1. — Organism — flesh and bone to shelter the life. 

2. — Natural animal life — to move the organism. 

3. — Conscience or spirit of life — the power that moves and 
does. 

4. — Wind or breath of the spirit of life — that energizes the 
person. 

The BREATH of the spirit of life is that essence which comes 
from God through the air or atmosphere, by which all breathing 
creatures live, and by which all fire burns. It is the breath — the 
air. The SPIRIT OF LiFE is the dynamic power, the con- 
science, the disposition, or intelligence back of the animal life 
which causes the organism to move about, to think, to work, to 
act. All voluntary actions are controlled by the will through the 
breath of life; but all involuntary actions such as of the lungs, 
heart, stomach, liver, blood, etc., are controlled by God inde- 
pendent of the will directly through the breath. It is upon the 
spirit of life, the conscience, that the breath acts by way of the 
lungs, heart and other organs, energizing the spirit so that it can 
perform upon the life itself. The natural life of man— the 
SOUL — is contained in the blood that flows through the veins 
of the body to keep the wornout tissues in repair, and is that 
part of the man which has to do with the locomotion and the 
senses. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 



21 



As soon as the blood is hindered from freely entering any 
member of the body, that member at once becomes lifeless and 
is without the power of motion. But as soon as the life-blood is 
allowed to return that member can move again. Therefore, 
when the breath of the spirit of life is wanting, the spirit of life 
ceases to operate, the life dies and the man returns to dust. 

If a man can be compared with a locomotive engine in action 
we would make the following comparison: 

The breath of the man is as the fire of the engine. 

The spirit of the man is as the motive power of the engine. 

The soul of the man is as the action of the engine. 

The body of the man is as the frame of the engine. 

The fact then is, that no one part of the man can be the man. 
So then we see that man made of the dust of the ground is prop- 
erly constituted an organized person: 

Living Soul 

. A 



/ 


Dead Soul 

A 




\ 


Body 


Soul 


Spirit 


Breath 


Framework 
Flesh and bone 
Organism 


Animal life 

Action 

Senses 


Conscience 
Motive powei 
Disposition 


Air 

Wind 

Atmosphere 



Like the angels, man in his creation was made neither mortal 
nor immortal, but he was given a power by which he can attain 
unto mortality or immortality, according as he obeys or disobeys 
God's will or law. After his creation, Adam was at once put on 
trial for everlasting Life (immortality) or death (mortality) ac- 
cording as he met or failed to meet certain conditions of law. 
Eve, his companion, was to be a partaker with Adam in all 
things. 



22 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

When Adam was put on trial God spoke to him, saying, "Of 
every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of trie tree 
of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in 
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen. 2 : 
17). Disobedience entered into Adam's life. He had been put in 
the Garden to dress it and keep it (Gen. 2 115), to have dominion 
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over 
every living creature that moved upon the earth (Gen. 1:28). 
He had failed to perform his duty as caretaker over the animals, 
and the serpent played truant and got out of his sight only to 
be used of Satan to seduce the pure mind of Eve in making her 
listen, through his subtilty, to a contradiction of what God had 
said (Gen. 3 :i). And as they, the woman and the serpent, con- 
versed with each other, Eve became fascinated with the craft- 
iness of the serpent, who succeeded in convincing her that God 
had indeed been mistaken in His orders to Adam. And the ser- 
pent said to her, "Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every 
tree of the Garden?" And the woman said unto the serpent, 
"We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the 
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath 
said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." 
And the serpent said unto the woman, "YE SHALL NOT 
SURELY DIE" (Gen. 3 :i~5). And so deceived by a trick, hav- 
ing permitted the serpent to do her thinking and reasoning for 
her instead of going to her husband first for advice, she became 
a proselyte of a false theory, became submissive to it, and yielded 
to the subtilty of the serpent who filled her with the knowledge 
of evil, which she communicated unto Adam who failed to watch 
over her as God had commanded, with the terrible result, that 
the penalty of DEATH must be inflicted upon the whole race of 
man. -- 5 ■'£ 

A controversy immediately arose in the mind of both Adam 
and Eve. God had said that they could not have the Everlasting 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 23 

Life unless they partook of the Tree of Life; and that if they 
partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would 
"surely die." Satan came along in the form of a serpent and 
made them believe that they had Everlasting Life by nature and 
that they "shall not surely die." This is "the lie" of all lies upon 
which all false doctrine is founded. 

Satan is mighty, but Jehovah is Almighty and the cog-wheels of 
His laws are in perfect motion. Whosoever violates His laws 
commits sin; the cog-wheels grind on just the same and ("the 
wages of sin is death") death must follow as the penalty. 

M an blames the woman for his fall ; but God blames the man 
for it all. Dominion over the whole earth and all its inhabitants 
was vested in Adam (the man), (Ps. 8:4-8), (Gen. 1:26). He 
failed to protect Eve in her innocence, when he knew better, and 
he failed to exercise his dominion over the serpent who beguiled 
Eve; "therefore God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden. 
.... God drove out the man; and He placed at the east of 
the Garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which 
turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life (Gen. 3 :24) 
lest Adam put forth his hand, and take of the Tree of Life and 
live forever." God would not allow the life of man to be end- 
lessly perpetuated after he had sinned, and this was the very 
reason why he was debarred from the Tree of Life. So Adam 
had to die. 

Now Satan is blinding the people to these facts and ever since 
that time he has continued to keep up a controversy in the Church 
dividing God's children so that throughout the ages they have 
had factional strife on the subject of death. 

The root of every religion may be found growing either in the 
good fertile soil of God's truth, "Thou shalt surely die ;" or in the 
mire of Satan's lie, "Ye shall not surely die." Orthodoxy is con- 



24 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

stantly affirming that the man himself does not and can not die. 
Satan affirms the same, so as to keep the truth of God hidden. 

It was by changing the truth of God into a lie that the great 
enemy of God accomplished the ruin of our first parents, and to- 
day, the glorious Gospel, which is "the power of God unto Sal- 
vation to every one that believeth, is made of none effect," through 
the delusions that Satan has taught men to believe and to preach 
concerning the future state of the living and the dead. 

Thus the ancient Jews were divided upon the state of the dead, 
and each division had the one side or the other side upon which 
to base all such belief. The one side claimed Abraham's faith 
as a guide; the other side could not and would not believe the 
teachings of Abraham. The one side looked forward to a time 
when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham: for God had 
said, "1 will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee, the land 
wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an ever- 
lasting possession (Gen. 13:14-17), (Gen. 17:8). They took 
God at His word, but Abraham died not having received the 
promise, but having seen it afar off (Heb. 6:13, 11 :13). Stephen 
said the Lord "gave him none inheritance in the land, no, not so 
much as to set his foot on" (Acts 7:5). And so the one side 
is still looking for the promise to be fulfilled, and consequently 
they expect Abraham to be resurrected from the death state, and 
to see him in the Kingdom of God with Isaac and Jacob (Matt. 
8:11), in the Kingdom which Jesus taught us to pray for (Matt. 
6:10), to come on this earth, when God's will shall be done on 
earth as it is done in heaven, which Kingdom cannot come in a 
literal way until the Messiah comes to reign as King (2 Tim. 
4:1). 

The other side believed that when a man dies his spirit would 
leave the body for an xistence in a disembodied spirit state of 
conscious being, somewhere in a spirit world, and that being in 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 25 

such a state, the (embodied) living could, through a medium 
(1 Sam. 28:7), (Isa. 8:19), communicate with the dead in an in- 
telligent way, and seek to know the destiny of their own lives, 
etc., in the same way that fortune tellers and wizards are doing 
today when they employ the impersonations of evil spirits to de- 
ceive their patrons for gain. 

Thus the Hebrew assemblies of ancient times were divided 
into two great sects; the Pharisees who believed in a literal res- 
urrection of the dead, and the Sadducees who did not believe in a 
resurrection (Acts 23:8). These great divisions, of course, had 
many minor offshoots and factions. 

These two views of the state of the dead were the subject of all 
the controversy of Jesus and the Jews (Matt. 22nd chap.), and 
of the Apostles (Acts 4:2-3), and of all the early Disciples (Acts 
17:18). Jesus was arrested, tried and crucified because He 
preached of the hope and resurrection of the dead. Paul suffered 
his martyrdom because of preaching the hope and resurrection 
of the dead both of the just and the unjust (Acts 17:18), (Acts 
17:32), (Acts 24:14-16), (Acts 23:6-9). And wherever the 
hope and resurrection of the dead is preached in this present age 
there will men see intense opposition and persecution and the ser- 
vants of God will be hated, as was Paul (Acts 26 :6-8). 

The Christian denominations are divided in opinion on these 
two questions : the future state of the dead, and the resurrection. 
The one side contends that there is in every human person, by na- 
ture, an immortal intelligent entity which goes to heaven or to hell 
at the death of man. The other side contends that when a man 
dies he is as dead as a stone, spirit, soul and body. The one side 
contends that there is a real consciousness in death after this 
present life. The other side contends that there is not a con- 
sciousness in death; that the dead are DEAD, but that life will 
be restored to the dead by God at the time appointed in His plan, 



26 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

which time according to the Scriptures begins at the time of the 
first resurrection of the dead, when the Messiah comes (1 Thes. 
4:15-17); the intervening time between the time of death after 
this present life and the resurrection being spent in the grave in 
a state of absolute oblivion and lifelessness, both of thought and 
action. Disobedience and prejudice have blinded some to the 
truth in a large degree, but we must know the truth and be set 
free. 

We have all noticed that some assemblies almost wholly neg- 
lect the spiritual worship, while they magnify the worship of the 
truth. Other assemblies pay no attention or very little attention 
to the truth and magnify the worship in the spirit. But our Lord 
said that the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit 
and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him (John 
4:23). To worship God in spirit only, without the Word of 
truth, promotes fanaticism. To worship God without spirit pro- 
motes formalism. 

We are told by orthodoxy that, long before the creation, God 
had figured out a plan for man by which only an occasional one 
is to be saved and sent to heaven, while the great masses of the 
people are to be damned and sent to hell. In short, the plan is 
more a plan of damnation than it is a plan of salvation. If we 
ourselves would do for a cat, a dog, or a rat, what, we say, God 
does in torturing throughout eternity our neighbors and friends 
and loved ones, then the law of the land would deal severely 
with us because the law of justice is against such a practice. But 
let us be reminded that Jehovah is a God of justice, righteousness, 
mercy and love, and not a cruel monster as some would teach. 

The questions to be discussed in this volume are : first, what is 
the future state of the dead; and, second, an examination of the 
teaching being handed out to all people in general, by Bible teach- 
ers, as an inducement for the wicked to turn to the Christ-life; 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 27 

viz: that to live for Christ is to gain a home of Everlasting Life 
and bliss, associated with angels, in mansions in heaven above; 
and to reject Christ is to gain a life of everlasting torment in a 
literal burning fire in hell beneath (a supposed repository of 
burning material composed of literal brimstone and fire) — a 
life of eternal misery, remorse of conscience or anguish of soul, 
in a supposed prison, or purgatory, or reform-school, or chamber 
of horrors, in a spirit-world beneath the surface of the earth, 
amid wicked, tantalizing spirit-beings, or fire-proof demons, whose 
business it is to aggravate and tantalize their victims by keep- 
ing them in constant remembrance of the evil deeds committed 
in this present natural life. 

We are told that "all Scripture (not merely the New Testa- 
ment, but the Old Testament as well), given by inspiration of 
God, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
instruction in righteousness : that the man of God may be per- 
fect, throughly furnished unto all good works," and that if any 
"speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light 
in them." In the light of these Scriptures, "which are able to 
make men wise unto salvation," "come now and let us reason 
together." But let us remember that unless we look upon the 
Scriptures as absolute truth, the searching into it will not profit us 
(Heb. 4:2). 

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, 
which is proof against all argument and which cannot fail to 
keep a man in everlasting ignorance ; this principle is contempt 
prior to examination." — Herbert Spencer. 



Note — It is hoped that the reader will pause long enough after each of the following 
thoughts to reason out for himself the truth of every statement, before he will pour 
contempt upon it or throw it aside. 



28 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER TWO. 

Notwithstanding that men are in the habit of teaching it for 
sound Bible doctrine, the Scriptures nowhere declare either di- 
rectly or by implication, that any part or spark of God has been 
or is communicated to every or any human person either at con- 
ception or at birth. 

If any spark of God were communicated to every human per- 
son either at conception or at birth, that spark, being a part of 
God, must be as infinite and as eternal as God. It then follows 
that if it is eternal it must be incapable of death. If it cannot 
die or be put to death, it must have Eternal Life. If it has 
Eternal Life then it never was created. If it never was created, 
then it has neither beginning nor end. If it has neither begin- 
ning nor end, then it must be immortal. If it is immortal then it 
is a part of God. 

It then follows that in the communication of this spark (com- 
monly called soul) to the human body, God must depend upon 
the giving in birth of bodies. If God depends upon bodies being, 
born into the world he then indirectly depends upon the willing- 
ness of man to become a party to procreation. Then it follows 
that God cannot communicate this infinite spark to the human 
body unless the adult man is disposed to permit Him to do so, by 
the exercise of his willingness to beget children. If the commu- 
nication of this spark depends upon procreation, then it follows 
that the soul being dependent upon the body must rise and fall 
with the body, and can be purified or corrupted at the dictation 
of the will of that body. Then it follows that God must have a 
supply of souls or spirits on hand in storage, ready to place in 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 29 

the body as soon as conceived or given in birth; then it follows 
that souls or spirits are ever the same in number, neither being 
diminished by deaths nor increased by births; that the soul or 
spirit being immortal (like God) cannot be made to die, or can- 
not die of itself or be destroyed by God, since in destroying this 
soul or spirit, God would be destroying a part of Himself; then 
it would follow that if the soul or spirit is really immortal, death- 
less like God, that soul or spirit really has Everlasting Life, 
whether that soul is at the end of the life of the body, a wicked 
or a just soul. 

If these conclusions are correct, then it follows that God, being 
dependent upon man's willingness to be fruitful, cannot be Al- 
mighty. Then it follows that whether or not one believes in 
Christ, one's spirit will have Everlasting Life anyway, being by 
nature immortal, deathless, indestructible, which is contrary to 
the Scripture and to human reason, and is nothing more than 
human speculation or pagan superstition. 

If any spark of God — who is perfect and immortal — 
were given to man either at conception or birth, that spark, be- 
ing a part of God, would of necessity be both perfect and im- 
mortal. There are no degrees of comparison in perfection, and 
therefore we must conclude that the spark must be a mature 
spark, full-grown, responsible at the outset, and that a new-born 
infant would be equally responsible for his moral exercises and 
acts with an adult. No imperfection can proceed from a Perfect 
Being ; therefore we cannot truthfully say that the spirit of man 
is an immortal, deathless spark of God because it is not perfect, 
but is made stronger as the age of maturity is reached (Luke 
1 :80) being subject to the laws of nature in growth or develop- 
ment. It is also made weaker by old age and sickness. 



30 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER THREE. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion, that man ever had or now has natural immortality, either 
cf the spirit, of the soul, or of the body. 

Immortality is a condition of life that is not liable to death, and 
in which death, or that which leads to death, is an impossibility. 
It is non-dieable. It is not mortal. It is impossible for an im- 
mortal person to die. Immortality is inherent life. 

Mortality is .a condition of life that is liable to death, and in 
which death is a possibility. Adam had life — perfect life — but 
he was mortal. There was no part of Adam that was immortal. 
Therefore none of Adam's children can claim immortality by 
nature. Adam was given a life that was to be continuous so 
long as obedient to God's commands, or to be discontinued in 
death if disobedient. Adam's trial was not to attain unto im- 
mortality, but that he might attain unto Everlasting Life which 
would merit immortality. Hence, natural man, being the natural 
offspring of Adam, must come under the mortal Adamic law of 
sin and death with him, condemned to die because of disobedience, 
unless we "through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body," 
and are led by the Spirit of God, walking after the Spirit and not 
after the flesh. We understand that mortal man does not attain 
unto immortality at any time during this present life. He can 
only receive the seed of immortality, which is Christ. 

If man has by nature immortality of the soul, or spirit, then 
it was nonsense for Paul to teach his people to SEEK AFTER 
IMMORTALITY by patient continuance in well doing (Rom. 
2 :7). Then it was a mistake for Paul to say that Christ brought 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 31 

life (Greek-Zoe) and immortality to light through the Gospel 
(2 Tim. 1 :10) ; then it is not a fact that CHRIST ONLY HATH 
IMMORTALITY (1 Tim. 6:16) ; then it is not a fact that not 
until the resurrection takes place do the dead in Christ put on im- 
mortality (1 Cor. 15:51-54). 

The Bible teaches that immortality is the gift of God only 
through Christ, and is the portion of believers and overcomers 
only. To suppose that the Bible teaches both the affirmative and 
the negative of the same subject, when rightly understood, is to 
impeach its Author, and prove Him unworthy of confidence or 
respect. The Bible is either all in favor of the natural immor- 
tality of man or of his soul or spirit; or it is all opposed. 

These facts will always remain unshaken, because our Lord, 
the Apostles, Barnabas, Paul, Clements of Rome, Hermas, Igna- 
tius, Polycarp, Justin, Theophilus — Bishop of Antioch, Irenaeus, 
Clement of Alexandria, Arnobius, Martin Luther and many other 
reformers of the early and. dark ages of Christianity taught that 
immortality is the portion of believers only, through faith and 
obedience in Christ; that Adam and Eve were not constituted 
immortal in their creation, but were made capable of immortality 
upon the fulfillment of certain conditions, and that all the life 
they had in their innocency was conditioned on their continued 
obedience, and, even in that case, was dependent on their free 
access to the Tree of Life for its maintenance. Since it is a 
fact that Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden 
and did not partake of the Tree of Life that they might live for- 
ever, then it is a fact that they did die and that they returned to 
the ground from which they were taken, just as God said they 
would if disobedient (Gen. 3:19). 

With every promise God has made for man, God has also laid 
down a command to be lived — a condition to be met — before the 
promise can be fulfilled. To meet the conditions of God will as 



32 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



an invariable consequence bring about a fulfillment of the prom- 
ises whether one be conscious or unconscious that such promises 
exist. Adam could not have Everlasting Life except on condi- 
tion of his obedience to God and by partaking of the Tree of Life ; 
but he failed to be obedient and he partook of the tree of death. 
Therefore Adam died (Gen. 5 :5) and we, his children, must die, 
spirit, soul and body, and return to the ground like him. 



Note — A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. So it is with a theory. Doc- 
trines are not proved to be facts from evidences gathered that tend to confirm the 
doctrines. A doctrine can be proved to be a truth only after all the arguments against 
it have been exhausted and found to fail in shaking it. Theories become facts only 
after every effort to shake and undermine them have proved futile. Most men prove 
doctrines by getting all the arguments they can in favor of their views. The proper 
way to prove them is to get all the arguments you can to disprove them and to over- 
throw them. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 33 



CHAPTER FOUR. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion that either the spirit, the soul, or the body is or can be a 
living conscious entity independent of the other two parts. 

If either the spirit or the soul is a living intelligent entity inde- 
pendent of the body, then Adam's soul did not die, neither did 
his spirit die, either a physical or a spiritual death; then it fol- 
lows that the spirits or souls of any of Adam's progeny who have 
died the first death are now in a state of consciousness, and can 
see, hear, smell, taste, feel and think, and must of necessity be 
either in a state of bliss or of torment. But God said, ''In the day 
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Whatever con- 
stituted "thou" had to die. "Thou" and " man" are synonymous 
with "ADAM" because God did not call the cretaure "ADAM" 
or "MAN'' until the creature had within it the breath of lives, 
and had become a living soul. Previous to that time the creature 
was a dead soul. 

If the spirit or soul is an intelligent entity independent of the 
body, then it is an organism, and its organism can be broken up 
or disorganized and its activities must then cease because it is 
finite. Therefore, it cannot possibly be immortal, deathless. 

Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, who wrote in the latter part of 
the second century, says : "But some will say, w r as man made mor- 
tal by nature ? By no means. Immortal ? Nor do we say this. If 
immortal, his Maker would seem to have made him a god;, if 
mortal, God would seem to be the author of sin. Therefore, He 
made him neither mortal nor immortal, but capable of both ; so 
that if he advanced to the things which led to immortality, he 
might receive immortality, and become Godlike; but if, on the 



34 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



other hand, he should turn to the works of the flesh, he would 
become unto himself the author of his own death." 

It was the man Adam that sinned, which man constituted flesh 
body, animal life or soul, and spirit; consequently, all that goes 
to make up the man Adam, — spirit, soul and body — whatever 
constitutes "thou," was sentenced to a death called in Hebrew 
"sheol" being in English what is known as absolute oblivion, or 
unconscious state of being. It is written, "The living know they 
shall die; but the dead know not anything" (Eccl. 9:5). 

"That which befalleth the sons of man befalleth beasts; even 
one thing befalleth them : AS THE ONE DIETH SO DIETH 
THE OTHER: yea, they have all one breath, (Rauch— breath, 
spirit) ; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast; all 
go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again" 
(Eccl. 3:19). 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 35 



CHAPTER FIVE. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion, that judgment takes place immediately after death either 
in a heaven above the earth or in a hell of torment beneath the 
earth. 

If judgment or reward takes place immediately after death, 
then there is absolutely no use for the resurrection of the dead 
spoken of by Paul and Christ, and all the Apostles and Disciples 
of Christ; then it is an error to suppose that the heathen and 
little children, who have never heard of the name of Christ, will 
ever hear of Christ, but instead, they are having their reward of 
remorse of conscience in a lake of literal fire gnawing at their 
unconsumable souls, or spirits. Then it was wrong for Paul and 
Peter and Jesus, and the prophets of old to bring back the dead 
to life again, and to restore them to health for years to come, in 
which act they did contrary to the plan of God the Father, 
whose laws are irrevocable and unimpeachable; then it must be 
a fact that Christ and all the Apostles had the power to bring 
back from heaven or from hell the spirits, or souls, that had 
flown from the body at death, and in so doing, they could at 
their own pleasure frustrate the law of God. Especially must 
this have been so in the case of Lazarus, who was dead four 
days before Christ came on the scene, at which time we must 
suppose that Christ called Lazarus' spirit or soul from its re- 
ward in heaven (for he was a good man) and placed it back 
again into the corrupt body to eke out an existence of possible 
pain, sorrow, trouble and another sickness and then death again, 
only to return from whence it had been taken; when on the 



36 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

other hand, if Jesus had left Lazarus' spirit or soul (whichever 
term one may choose to use; for in the "orthodox" church the 
terms are used interchangeably to signify that spark of God) 
in heaven, it would have had a better place than on earth mingled 
again with sinners. 

If this be true than there is no need of a resurrection of the 
just and the unjust (Dan. 12:1-3), (John 5 :29) ; then there is no 
need of the Messiah coming with ten thousand of His saints 
to execute judgment (Jude 14) ; for "orthodoxy" says the good 
go to heaven and the wicked go to a hell of eternal torture in 
fire immediately after the death of the body. But we would ask 
the advocate of such a doctrine to explain how it would be pos- 
sible for an infinite, immortal soul or ethereal spirit to be tor- 
tured by a finite, material, literal fire, without being in the least 
consumed, while the very nature of literal fire is to be the most 
powerful agency of destruction and obliteration. If literal finite 
fire can torture an infinite spirit, then it certainly can consume 
the same. 

It is written of all men that in death "the spirit shall return to 
God who gave it." Let us suppose that this spirit is that so- 
called spark of God which is immortal and is placed in the body 
of every human person ; that this spark is as it is said to be, an 
intelligent entity, capable of exercising the six senses, and that 
it has just left the body of a wicked man who has just died. 
Shall we wrest the Scriptures and teach the doctrines of men 
by stating that this spirit has gone to a hell of eternal misery 
while the Bible says it has returned to God who gave it ? 

If then the spirit that returns to God is an intelligent, infinite 
entity — and no unclean thing can stand in the presence of God 
(Ps. 15 chap.) — then there can be no wicked spirits, because 
they all return to God. Consequently they must all be immortal 
spirits and being immortal must have Everlasting Life. Then, 
one must assume that there can be no evil spirits to go to hell, 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 37 



or to an eternal torment. Therefore, these spirits are all good 
spirits, and go to heaven; and hell must be just a myth or a 
theory; therefore, let us all do wickedly — eat, drink and be 
merry, for to-morrow we die — and our spirits will go to God 
anyway, whether good or bad, whether we believe in Christ 
or not,- that is, presuming the word rendered "spirit" (Eccl. 
12:7) really signifies an intelligent entity, an immortal part 
of man, an immortal deathless spark or part of God. 



38 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER SIX. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion that the good go immediately after death to a heaven of 
happiness and restful bliss above, or that the wicked go imme- 
diately after death to a hell of torture or remorse of conscience 
or anguish of soul. 

If the good go immediately to a heaven above for their re- 
ward, and the bad go immediately to a hell of torment beneath 
for their reward of punishment, then, should there be such 
a thing as a resurrection of the dead, there would be two re- 
wards. What sense then is there in Christ calling the good away 
from their reward in heaven, or the bad from hell? Why not 
let the good alone to enjoy their bliss? Why stop Satan and his 
fireproof demons from torturing the wicked, to bring them up 
cut of the (so-called) hell of torment only to be sentenced over 
again and returned to have the torture resumed, when they had 
already been once sentenced? How can it be justice to torture 
the soul or spirit, for a sin that was committed by the flesh, or 
what justice is there to torture the flesh for the sin of the soul? 

It would be unjust for God, who is an Infinite Being, to punish 
a finite man who has committed a finite act in sin, with a punish- 
ment that is infinite, before the man has a true knowledge of 
the will of the Infinite God and has been enlightened concern- 
ing the power through faith in Christ to overcome sin. So it 
is that in the light of common sense and reason, we are forced 
to assume that either the soul suffers for the sin of the body, 
or the body suffers for the sin of the soul, if it be true that there 
is any suffering at all in death. In the study of the Scriptures 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 39 

there is no room for assumptions or speculations. All Scripture 
given by inspiration of God is absolute and positive fact. It is 
truth. 

All men teach that Jehovah is a God of love. It would be very 
inconsistent, cruel and unjust in a God of love to demand of us 
to love our enemies, when at the same time He expects to reek 
out His vengeance upon men who do not obey Him, by putting 
them in a place of torture. 

A fact that stands out in the teaching of the Bible more than 
is commonly known is this : there is absolutely no such thing as 
eternity for a wicked person. There is death, everlasting de- 
struction. 

No one ever was led to repentance through fear of having 
to suffer eternal torment. Men can be horrified by terrible de- 
scriptions of the cringing agonies of the wicked dead, and the 
tortures inflicted by an eternal unconsuming fire that preserves 
the soul in torments of pain and misery rather than destroys ; 
but they are driven to hate God as an unjust monster. Nothing 
good ever comes out of such preaching and no one was ever 
convicted of sin by having preached to him tales that are be- 
yond the bounds of justice and reason. Nothing but the preach- 
ing of the goodness of God has a tendency to produce convic- 
tion of sin or penitence, a contrite spirit, or love. And without 
conviction of sin there can be no true repentance or sorrow for 
sin. The goodness of God leads men to repentance; nothing 
else can have the effect of leading men to serve Christ. Try- 
ing to scare men into repentance and obedience to Christ by 
threatening them of future misery and agony in hell only serves 
to make men believe that God is a cruel monster. 



40 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER SEVEN. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion that either the wicked or the good receive their reward for 
the deeds done in this life immediately after death. 

If rewards were given immedately after death, it would not 
have been written that when Jesus comes His reward is with 
Him to give every man according as his work shall be. (Rev. 
22:12), (John 5:28-29), (Dan. 12:1-3). 

One of the principal supports of the doctrine of the natural 
immortality of the soul is the account of the rich man and 
Lazarus. Two views are taken of this passage. One is that 
it is a literal history of two men and the other is that it is a 
parable. This narrative is used to prove: first, that man is 
conscious between death and the resurrection; and second, that 
men go to their reward or punishment as soon as they die. 

It is said that this narrative is that of a literal fact. But the 
Bible distinctly says that the Pharisees to whom this story was 
told (Luke 16:14) were of the multitude; and that Jesus spoke 
to the miltitude only in parables (Matt. 13:10-11), (Matt. 
13-34). Therefore, we must conclude that this passage is but a 
parable and not a literal fact. 

If it is really true that this part of Scripture is the story of a 
literal fact concerning the rich man, then one of two things must 
be true ; the rich man was either buried alive, or he came to life 
after he was buried. But the Scriptures say, a the rich man 
also died." (Luke 16:19-31). Is it true that he came to life 
after he was dead and buried? 

We are told that it is not the real material Lazarus, who was 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 41 

carried by the angels, but it was his soul ; and that it was not 
the body of the rich man that was tormented, but his soul. But 
in the whole story, as related in the Scriptures, not one hint 
is given concerning the soul. Does any one have a right to 
speculate ? 

It is claimed by some writers, that the soul is "without body 
or parts" that it has neither "interior nor exterior" and that 
a thousand could dance on the point of a needle. Could such 
an imaginary being have a tongue, fingers and eyes? Whenever 
there is a material tongue, fingers, and eyes, there is a material 
organism. The Bible does not teach absurdities ; and no one 
has the right to teach that which is absurd. Therefore, it would 
be contrary to all the other parts of Scripture to say that this is 
a literal story of two men. The best evidence shows that this i^ 
a parable given to the Pharisees, and the Bible teaches very 
plainly that men are not rewarded or punished till after the 
second advent of Christ (2 Pet. 2:9-22), (2 Tim. 4-1). It is 
written : "Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the 
just." (Luke 14:14), (Rev. 11:18), (1. Pet. 5:4), (2 Tim. 4:8), 
(Rom. 2:12, 16), (2 Thes. 1:9-10). 

The main object of this parable, however, is to show that the 
rich man — the Jews — would be cast down to a low degraded 
condition because he rejected Christ. But that Lazarus, the 
poor man, represented the Gentiles who would be elevated and 
saved by accepting Christ. To say the story of the rich man 
is a literal fact would be to say that the rich man is dead and 
buried, and alive at the same time. 

An example common to every-day-life will suffice to show the 
inroads a false teaching about this parable has made, and the 
inconsistencies of thought that are practiced because of such 
teaching by the average church-goer at the time of a funeral 
service. Let it be supposed that two men,, the one an excellent 
Christian character and the other a vile and wicked murderer, 



42 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



attended the same church services and had in some way struck 
up a very intimate acquaintance with each other. During an 
unguarded moment the Christian yielded to a temptation of 
Satan in a heat of anger at an insulting remark from the other, 
and then thoughtlessly slandered the murderer who, in revenge 
for the insult of slander, killed the Christian. 

According to the generally accepted theory, the Christian, 
having committed sin just before his death (unpardoned sin), 
must go to hell because he had not time to seek forgiveness, 
although previous to this moment he had led an excellent Chris- 
tian life. The murderer, who had killed many a man before but 
had succeeded in escaping the law, was arrested and sentenced 
to hang for his crime. Having attended the church service for 
a long time and gotten acquainted with the pastor, the pas- 
tor visited the jail very often and began to lead the murderer 
to Christ through repentance and faith, until finally, a few days 
before the day of hanging he succeeded in getting the mur- 
derer to accept Christ as his Saviour and to begin a Christian 
career. The murderer became very devoted to his Bible and 
to God. The day of hanging came. The murderer stepped on 
the trap and the drop fell ; he was a dead man. He had lived a 
vile murderer nearly all his life except the few days before he 
was hanged. 

At the funeral service the same pastor who performed the 
funeral service over the body of the Christian and sent his spirit 
to hell for one act of slander not repented of, now performed 
the funeral service over the body of the man who had been a 
murderer at heart all his life except a few days before death, and 
this man's spirit, because he died a Christian, is sent to heaven. 

"Two men gambled and quarreled, drew their revolvers and 
shot each other. The more contemptible of the two killed his 
antagonist instantly, while he himself lingered in consciousness 
for a few minutes, during which time he had opportunity to say, 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 43 



'God be merciful to me a sinner.' Protestantism tells us that the 
one who used the magical words was instantly ushered to heaven- 
ly glory and companionship with the pure and holy throughout 
eternity. The other, we are told, though less vile, went instantly 
to eternal torture and despair, without a single ray of hope. Is 
it any wonder that such unreasonable conclusions have driven 
many of the brighter minds of Protestantism into Infidelity?" — 
(People's Pulpit). 

If this parable of the rich man and Lazarus refers to rewards 
and punishments immediately after death then men must be re- 
warded and punished before the day of judgment. Then why 
have a judgment day afterwards? Then there will be no need of 
Christ coming with his saints to execute judgment upon all. 
(Jude 15). The Scriptures plainly teach that judgment and re- 
ward both of the just and the unjust will be given on this earth. 
(Jude 14), (Isa. 42:4), (Jer. 23:5), (Jer. 33:15), after the sec- 
ond advent of Christ; not in a heaven above or in. a hell be- 
neath, or at the time of death, but on this earth, after those to 
be judged have been resurrected from the death state. (Rev. 
11:18), (Rom. 2:12, 16). 

"Christian people who are themselves opposed to cruelty in 
every form subscribe to creeds of the dark ages which mis- 
represent the heavenly Father as taking fiendish delight in creat- 
ing millions of humanity with the foreknowledge of a precarious 
existence in the present life of a few years and their eternal 
torture. It is claimed by fore-ordination, or at least fore- 
arrangement, God planned that all except the saints shall spend 
an endless eternity in most horrible torture. Some say in 
physical and others say in mental torture worse. 

"These Christian friends have apparently failed to note that 
the Scripture references which they believe teach eternal torment 
are all of this parabolic or symbolic character ; that there is not 
a literal statement to such an effect from Genesis to Revelation. 



44 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



On the contrary, there are numerous Scriptures which declare 
that the wicked shall be destroyed, perish, die, and that God's 
provision is that none can have everlasting life except as a gift 
and favor through Christ. The wages of sin is death, but the 
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
(Rom. 6:23). 

"The masses, disgusted with all doctrines, no longer hope for 
anything reasonable or logical in religion. Some, devoid of 
heart and reason, are fully satisfied; let the doctrines alone. But 
others still hunger and thirst after righteousness — truth. Their 
hearts cry out after the living and true God — a God of justice, 
wisdom, love and power. They realize that the Bible must be 
his revelation of his own character and purposes, yet are free 
to acknowledge that they have never been able satisfactorily to 
understand it or to harmonize its doctrines. The message of 
Present Truth is for this latter class, and all over the world they 
are hearing it and being blessed, refreshed, comforted, strength- 
ened by divine might in the inner man. 

"We remind you that in the parable the thing said is never 
the thing meant. For instance, wheat and tares do not mean 
wheat and tares, but children of the Kingdom and children of 
the wicked one. Sheep and goats mean the Lord's people and 
those of a different spirit or disposition. So in the parable under 
consideration. We hold that the rich man and Lazarus and all 
the various things connected with the story are parabolic. The 
majority of people, seemingly anxious to hold on to this parable 
as a proof text favoring the eternal torment theory, insist that 
it is not a parable, but a literal statement of facts. We must pause 
therefore, to show the impossibility of that view before we pro- 
ceed to analyze the true meaning. We need mention only a few 
points to show that it could not be properly understood as a 
literal statement of facts. For instance, it is not stated that the 
rich man was profane or immoral or wicked in any ordinary 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 45 

sense of these words. The whole account is that he was rich, 
was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every 
day. Mewed literally the implication would be that all the 
wealthy who wear purple apparel and who have a bountiful 
supply of provisions will by and by spend an eternity of tor- 
ment regardless of their moral characters. Surely such an in- 
terpretation is irrational. "Likewise of Lazarus, we read not a 
word about his good qualities, his purity of heart, his generosity 
to the poor, his reverence for God, etc., but merely that he was 
poor, lay at the rich man's gate, desired to eat the crumbs from 
his table and was full of sores. If these conditions are to be 
understood literally, it would signify that moral and religious 
qualities have nothing to do with our admittance to a heavenly 
state, but merely poverty, sickness, etc., such as few of us could 
claim to have duplicated. Moreover a literal interpretation would 
imply Abraham's literal bosom as a place of bliss. And if Lazar- 
us got there, and even two or three since, it would leave no room 
for any of us. 

"We offer a suggestion as to the meaning of this parable. We 
admit that, since our Lord did not interpret it, anybody has the 
same right as ourselves to seek to find and make known an inter- 
pretation which will fit to all the various parts of the parable and 
be reasonable, Scriptural and harmonious. Yet we have never 
seen any lucid interpretation except that which we now present. 

"The rich man symbolizes the Jewish nation. For centuries that 
people were God's peculiar people, of whom he said, 'You only 
have I known (recognized) of all the families of the earth.' 
(Amos 3:2). 

"St. Paul tells us that the Jews had much advantage every way, 
'chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracle of 
God.' (Rom. 3:2). These divine gifts, favors, blessings, 
promises, are all symbolically represented in the rich man's con- 
dition.. 



46 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



"First. His clothing of purple symbolically represented roy- 
alty. That nation God had organized as his kingdom, as we read, 
David sat on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord, and, again, 
Solomon sat on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord in the 
room of his father David. Although the kingly power was taken 
away from them in the days of King Zedekiah, nevertheless 
the scepter shall not depart from Judah . . . until Shiloh 
come. Messiah was therefore to "come to that nation, that it 
might have the great honor of being his kingdom, the channel 
of divine blessing to the world. 

"Second. The fine linen symbolically represented righteous- 
ness, the righteousness which by divine arrangement was reck- 
oned to that holy nation year by year continually, for centuries, 
as the result of their atonement day sacrifices. 

"Third. The sumptuous fare represented the gracious prom- 
ises of God through the law and the prophets and his covenants 
with the nation. 

"Lazarus, the poor beggar full of sores who ate the crumbs, 
symbolized those gentiles who were outside of the Jewish 
covenant, aliens and strangers from the commonwealth of Israel. 
They had not the health and fine linen symbolical of justification 
and harmony with God. Their sores and rags represented their 
degradation, sin and alienation from divine favor and forgive- 
ness. The eating of the crumbs from the rich man's table repre- 
sented that under divine arrangement every promise and favor 
really belonged to the Jews and that every blessing granted to the 
gentiles was from Israel's fullness. Such crumbs of comfort 
were the healing of the centurion's daughter and the Syro- 
Phoenician woman's daughter. When this mother asked re- 
lief for her child Jesus answered, Tt is not meet to take the 
children's bread and give it to the dogs.' Our Lord thus used an 
aphorism of that time and country under which the Jews spoke 
of all gentiles as heathen dogs. The woman accepted the answer 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 47 



without offense, knowing that it was the Jewish sentiment in 
general, but she replied, 'Yea Lord, yet the little dogs eat of the 
crumbs which fall from the children's table.' Here she applied 
the word dog to herself and other gentiles, and the favor which 
she requested she called a crumb from the Jewish table, follow- 
ing our Lord's own suggestion in the matter. 

"Fourth. The dogs which licked Lazarus' sores represented 
gentiles in general and that the class of them represented by 
Lazarus, anxious for a share in divine mercy and grace, were 
companions of dogs, aliens, foreigners from divine favor. 

"The death which came to the rich man and to the beggar 
in the parable represents a decided change as respects divine 
favors and treatment on the part of both parties. The rich 
man, the Jewish nation, took sick, and the dying process began 
from the time of our Lord's crucifixion. As our Lord declared, 
'Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.' (Matt. 23:38). 
For thirty-seven years the rich man, the Jewish nation, gradually 
died to all of the wonderful privileges and blessings which had 
been theirs as God's peculiar people. The death of that nation 
occurred in the year 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus' 
army. Never since have they had national life. They have 
been dead and buried, entombed in hades as a nation. Thank 
God, the resurrection of Israel to national life is clearly fore- 
told under the new covenant at the second coming of Messiah in 
the glorious reign of the spiritual kingdom, 'Behold, the days 
come/ saith the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant with 
the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.' (Jer. 31 :31). 
"The death of the beggar occurred three and a half years after 
the cross at the end of Israel's specified seventy weeks of special 
favor. The middle wall of partition between Jew and gentile was 
then broken down. The beggar was no longer outside of the 
gate, the companion of dogs, but had full access to the table of 
the Lord and all the gracious promises and covenants it held 



48 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



forth. Cornelius, the first gentile convert, was received at this 
time, and his acceptance marked the end of special Jewish priv- 
ileges, the breaking down of the middle wall of partition. Then 
and henceforth every sincere gentile seeking fellowship with God 
and a share of his gracious promises had, through Christ, 
exactly the same rights as had the Jew — no more, no less. In- 
deed, the Jewish converts to Messiah became fellow members 
of this Lazarus outcast class, which now, though no more glor- 
ious than before in the sight of men, was specially favored of 
the Lord (Eph. 2:15). 

"Abraham is styled 'the father of the faithful,' and from this 
standpoint all faithful to God are counted as his children — 
symbolically. This is the figure used in this parable. Lazarus, 
accepted to Abraham's bosom in the parable, means that all of 
that class outcast from the Jewish nation, but hungering for 
the crumbs of divine favor and blessing and cleansing, were 
adopted as Abraham's seed or children of his bosom (he typi- 
fied God). Thus all gentiles accepting Christ are now children 
of Abraham, children of God by faith in the blood of Christ. 
Our Lord Jesus is the head of the seed of Abraham, and all we 
as well as all faithful Jews accepting him and becoming his 
disciples are counted members of his Body. As the apostle de- 
clares, 'Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of 
promise,' and, again, Tf ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's 
seed and heirs' (Gal. 3:29, 4:28). 

"All scholars will concede that the Greek word 'hades' and 
the Hebrew word 'sheol,' rendered hell in our common version, 
really signifies the death state, the tomb. Various Scriptures 
tell us of the silence of sheol and hades and that there is neither 
x wisdom nor knowledge nor device there; that the dead know 
not anything. Scholars, therefore, have been perplexed 
greatly at the statement of this parable that the rich 
man lifted up his eyes in hades, being in torments. The diffi- 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 49 

culty dissolves as soon as we have the proper interpretation to 
the parable and see that the Jewish people died as a nation and 
were buried as a nation, but did not all die individually. The 
people of Israel, outcast from their own land among all the 
nations of the earth, are very much alive, socially and per- 
sonally, having suffered for all these centuries. 

"Only very recently we have had an exhibition of how this rich 
man (Israel), dead as a nation, but alive as a people, has appealed 
to Father Abraham to have Lazarus cool his tongue with a drop 
of water. Of course, the thought would not be that a spirit 
finger would take a drop of literal water to cool a literal tongue. 
The interpretation must be looked for along the lines of the 
parable. The fulfillment came when the Jews of this country 
in a general petition requested the president of the United States 
to co-operate with other Christian nations and intercede on be- 
half of their members in Russia that they might have more 
liberty and less persecution, that their torments might be cooled. 

"If we look for the rich man's five brethren we find them. 
There were twelve tribes of Israel, and, although all of these 
tribes were in a general way represented in Israel in our Lord's 
day, yet, strictly speaking, that rich man was composed mainly 
of the two tribes — Judah and Benjamin. Now, if the two tribes 
— (the orthodox) — were represented in the one man the other 
ten tribes (the ten lost tribes of Israel) would be properly enough 
represented in his "five brethren." The suggestion of the parable 
that something be done for these five brethren is for the 
purpose of showing us that nothing would be done for them. 
The answer of the appeal was: 'They have Moses and the 
Prophets. ... If they hear not Moses and the prophets, 
neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead' 
(Luke 16:29, 31). Here, dear friends, we have a consistent in- 
terpretation of this parable, and it relieves our mind greatly. It 
assists also in illustrating to us the special relationship of the 



50 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

Jews under the Law Covenant and how this special relationship 
was lost by reason of their unbelief, alienated them from the di- 
vine favor of this gospel age and constituted a deep and wide 
gulf between them and the spiritual Israel class represented in 
Lazarus in Abraham's bosom. 

"We thank God that the promise of the Scriptures is that with 
the end of this gospel age this gulf of unbelief and consequent 
separation from divine favor will be done away and Israel will 
be delivered from the torments of these centuries and ex- 
perience a national resuscitation under the glorious privileges, 
favors, and advantages of the new covenant, 'Even so have 
these also not believed that through your mercy they also may 
obtain mercy' (Rom. 11:31). 

"God's great covenant, the oath bound covenant,, 'In thee and 
in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed,' applies 
specifically to the Christ, to our Redeemer and Lord, the Head, 
and to the elect church, the members of His body. 

"All of the privileges of blessing the world belong to this class, 
but they are received conditionally — that they will sacrifice their 
earthly rights and interests that they may have instead spiritual 
and heavenly conditions. Christ's death and the death of these 
his elect members to earthly interests constitute the terms upon 
which he and they shall be the mediator of the new covenant 
of Israel, to give Israel a share on the earthly plane in the work 
of blessing all the families of the earth under the new covenant. 
Thank God, this will mean restitution, uplifting out of sin and 
death conditions not only for those who have not yet entered 
the tomb, but for all of the race who will accept this favor of 
God through Christ, including those who have gone into the 
tomb. All refusing this grace will die the Second Death 
symbolized by Gehenna." — People's Pulpit, Vol. 1. No. 4. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 51 



CHAPTER EIGHT. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion that any one human except Jesus has ever been in Heaven 
above, or will ever be given an abode there ; that any part of hu- 
man man ever has been there, or ever will get there. 

If any one had ascended into heaven above up to the time that 
Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, Jesus never would have said, "We 
speak that we do know ... no man hath ascended up to 
heaven, but he that came down from heaven even the son of 
man" 1 (John 3:13). Neither could any man except Jesus have 
ascended up to heaven above, since He said to his disciples, 
"Whither I go ye cannot come" (John 13:33). He said that 
the meek shall inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5). It is nowhere 
written that the meek shall inherit heaven above, for even "David 
hath not ascended into the heavens" (Acts 2:34), but "he is 
both dead and buried and his sepulchre is with us unto this 
day" (Acts 13:36), (Acts 2:29). But still while we know these 
things are so plainly mentioned in the Bible, we thoughtlessly 
sing words that teach that, "they're building a palace for me 
over there"; that we are "heir to mansion"; that we are "going 
home to glory" ; that we should "look for a home in heaven bye- 
and-bye," "in mansions in the skies," where we are going, "in the 
good old fashioned way," "when the roll is called up yonder"; 
and that we are now "marching through Immanuel's ground, to 
fairer worlds on high." And we say " 'tis the old time religion ; 
it will take us all to heaven; and it's good enough for me" 
and "our sorrow will be over, when we get home," etc. We 



1 '.'Which is in heaven" is omitted from the Vatican Mss. (John 3 :13.) 



52 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

know positively, by the exercise of reason, that heaven for 
man cannot be above us or hell beneath, because as we whirl 
around in each 24-hour period or in each 365-day period, those 
abodes would have to whirl also. 

Let us stick to the Bible which plainly teaches that Jesus 
is to come to earth to receive us (John 14:3); that the real 
heaven for man is to be on this earth after Messiah the King 
comes; that all other kingdoms will become the Kingdom of 
God, the Kingdom of HEAVEN, the Heavenly Kingdom, and 
that all can literally enter into that Kingdom who have met the 
conditions. Let us not sing unscriptural hymns, but let us "get 
ready to welcome the. King" when he comes, by studying the 
Scriptures and living after its precepts and by teaching the words 
of Jesus. (1 Tim. 6:3-5), (1 Pet. 1:7-25), (1 Pet. 2:1-3), (Tit. 
2:11-15). 

Some readers will probably refer to Elijah the Tishbite whom 
the Bible says was carried away to heaven. This is the only di- 
rect instance mentioned in the Bible of any one except Jesus 
having gone away to heaven ; and for this reason man has specu- 
lated regarding the destiny of the Christian. There is no record 
of who Elijah was except that he was "of the inhabitants of 
Gilead." His name comes from the Hebrew words "Eli" — God 
and "Jah" — Jehovah, and may give some reason for men to say 
that perhaps Elijah was of supernatural origin, perhaps an 
angel personified, perhaps the Son of God Himself, in the form 
of man. There was also Melchisedec of whom the same thing 
can be said. However, there is much room for speculation since 
the Son of God appeared to others in early and patriarchal 
times. It might be mentioned here that there is no real reason 
for disbelieving that Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirl- 
wind, because there is no real certainty that he was a human 
man, the kind that Jesus told Nicodemus had never ascended 
into the heavens. (John 3:13). There is a mention in the 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 53 



Scriptures of Elijah being a man of God, and that is all we can 
learn. Nevertheless, let us not speculate nor hold up any pagan" 
superstition. Let us take Jesus at His word and believe Him, 
and teach what He says (i Tim. 6:3-5). We shall come to a 
knowledge of all these things at the proper time that God has 
appointed. Let us remember that we must get into our lives 
first the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven, having put off 
the old Adamic nature (Eph. 4:22-32), thereby helping to estab- 
lish the Kingdom of Heaven in the embryotic state in our lives ; 
and the seed of the Kingdom, which seed (like the mustard seed) 
will take root and throw out branches, will grow so that the 
Kingdom of God shall be literally established in righteous so- 
cial, commercial, governmental and ecclesiastical systems 
throughout the earth with Christ as King of Kings and High 
Priest, and the saints as Priests and Kings and Rulers of the 
cities of the earth. 

In the light of what we have already presented, it would be 
quite consistent to argue that the commonly accepted teaching 
of the natural immortality of the soul is just a little in advance 
of the heathenish idea of a "spirit-world" in the great beyond, 
where there is a "happy hunting ground" for the spirits or souls 
of the good dead. May we not say it is nothing less than the 
heathenish doctrine or transmigration of souls painted in an- 
other color and slightly modified by men who fell away from 
the true teachings of Christ and the apostles. 

There is hardly any difference between the theory that the 
soul or spirit leaves the body at death and enters into the body 
of an animal or bird or reptile, as the heathen would have us be- 
lieve by assumption, and the theory that it leaves the body at 
death to enter into heaven above. The principle is quite the same. 
In both cases the spirit would transmigrate; in the one, it would 
be reincarnation — a clothing again with flesh — while in the oth 
er, itwould be a disembodied spirit. The Bible nowhere teaches 



54 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

reincarnation or dis-embodiment of spirits of men or trans- 
migration of souls. God did not take a spirit and clothe it in 
flesh when He made Adam. God made a dead man whom Ke 
infused with life. Not until life was infused did Adam have 
a living spirit; for the spirit of man is immaterial and depends 
for its existence upon the life of the body. And when the body 
dies the spirit dies also. It is not dis-embodied in death. 

When we speak of the destiny of men in the light of the Scrip- 
tures we speak of the man in his entirety, composed of and con- 
stituted spirit, soul and body. The whole man is the subject 
cf either everlasting destruction because of sin or the subject of 
Everlasting Life because of righteousness, and not merely one 
of the parts of the man. 

Christian theology ridicules the heathen doctrine of transmi- 
gration of souls, when at the same time the theology of the pres- 
ent day is founded almost altogether on the principles of the 
heathenish doctrine, "natural immortality of the soul." "Trans- 
migration is the passing of persons from one country to another 
for the purpose of residence, or the passing of a thing into an- 
other state, as of one substance into another," says Webster. 
None but living things can transmigrate. Of course it is under- 
stood or rather assumed by men in general that if the soul is im- 
mortal, it cannot die or be put to death. Hence, when the body 
dies it must be assumed that the soul must leave the body, and 
this leaving the body constitutes transmigration. Therefore, to 
ridicule the heathen who preach transmigration of souls and 
with the same breath preach immortality of the souls of all men 
— "never-dying souls" — amounts to the same as denouncing the 
very doctrine preached. 

The doctrine of natural immortality of the soul was first taught 
by Satan to Mother Eve, who afterward repented and turned * 
from it, and since then to every one who became disobedient to 
God until it became the established idea of the heathen from 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 55 

whom it was borrowed and brought down to us through the 
dark ages by those who compromised with the religion of the 
heathen, in order to win them for the sake of gain. Contrary to 
the plain teaching of the Apostolic Church this heathen doctrine 
has been introduced into the Christian Churches and men have 
been taught to mortify the body and to do penances for the sin 
of the soul, and to buy indulgences for the remission of sins. 
In short, it is to teach us that we are saved by works. But the 
Bible teaches that we must mortify the deeds of the body, by 
the renewing of the mind and the putting off the gratifying of 
the passions of the flesh, through repentance toward God and 
man and faith in Christ the Lamb of God who taketh away the 
sins of the world, and by trusting in His shed blood and His 
resurrection from the dead, calling upon God to supply all our 
needs and being obedient to the voice of the conscience and to 
the law T s of Divine love toward all of God's creatures (Acts. 
10:42-43). 

William Tyndale says, "In putting departed souls in heaven, 
hell or purgatory, you destroy the arguments wherewith Christ 
and Paul prove the resurrection. What God doth with them, that 
shall we know when we come to them. The TRUE FAITH 
PUTTETH THE RESURRECTION, which we are warned 
to look for every hour. The heathen philosophers denying 
THAT, did put THAT SOULS DID EVER LIVE. And the 
pope joineth the spiritual doctrine of Christ and the fleshy doc- 
trine of philosophers together — things so contrary that they can- 
not agree. And because the fleshy minded pope consenteth unto 
heathen doctrine, therefore, he corrupteth the Scriptures to 
establish it. If the souls be in heaven, tell me why they be not 
in as good case as the angels be, and then what cause is there of 
the resurrection?" 



56 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



We know that the earth properly improved and renovated with 
all selfishness and sin eliminated and obliterated will be a very 
good heaven. Indeed, it will come to pass and it will be called 
heaven — Kingdom of Heaven. We are told to pray, "Thy King- 
dom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven." 



Note — The reader has probably noted that the preacher who cotnends that the soul 
of man leaves the body immediately at death will be the same man who will stoutly 
declare that the soul of the dead person does not leave the body for its repose until 
he has said the last rites over it in the funeral service, perhaps two or three days 
after death. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust. 57 



CHAPTER NINE. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion, that judgment begins immediately after death, after this 
present life. 

If judgment began immediately after individual death in this 
age, there would be no need for the resurrection spoken of in 
(1 Cor. 15 Chap.) and in (Ezek. 37 Chap.) and no need of 
preaching Christ's doctrine. But the real purpose of preaching 
Christ is to make ready a Bride — or wife, the Church "without 
spot or wrinkle," for the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin 
of the world, this Bride to be the servant who is tested and tried 
and found true and pure as gold tried in fire, who with Christ 
(Matt. 16:27) the Bridegroom, will preach the Everlasting 
Gospel (Rev. 14:6) to the nations that will dwell upon the earth 
after the second advent, which nations shall say, "This is our 
God we have waited for Him; He will teach us His ways and 
we shall walk in His paths" 'etc. (Micah 4:2-4). Then shall a 
nation be born in a day. Who shall have the right to teach that 
the Holy Spirit will be taken away from the earth as soon as the 
Lord catches away the Bride, leaving the inhabitants in a state 
of utter despair and to destroy one another in open warfare 
assisted by all the demons of hell turned loose? We are too 
prone to forget that Satan and his hosts are to be chained dur- 
ing the thousand-year-reign and in our zeal in preaching eternal 
torment for the wicked and for all those that do not reach our 
standard we forget that God is a God of love and that His mercy 
endureth forever. We forget that men are conceived in sin and 
shapen in iniquity, and that the wicked are not altogether re- 
sponsible for their failure to serve God in righteousness because 



58 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

of their inherited weaknesses. But we are glad that the Bible 
tells us that there is a glad day coming when "all that are in their 
graves shall hear His voice and come forth," and that they shall 
not suffer and be condemned because of inherited weakenesses, 
but they shall all get a fair chance to serve Christ and every 
knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess Him. But some 
of these will fall and be lost forever. 

If judgment began immediately after death, then it would not 
have been written, "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all 
be made alive,but every man in his own order'' (1 Cor. 15:23). 
The soul and body of man is to be redeemed from the grave — 
(Hebrew sheol . . . the death state, the unconscious state, 
oblivion) — (Ps. 49:15). The ransomed of the Lord shall return 
(Isa. 35:10) from the death state — ransomed by virtue of 
Christ's sacrifice. (Rom. 5:17), (1 Cor. 15:21-22), (Ps. 37:9-11). 
Then shall He, who was ordained of God (2 Tim. 4:1) be the 
Judge of the quick and the dead (Acts 10:42). 

All human dead are counted as asleep in Jesus — are reckoned 
as being alive but unconscious in the sleep of death — waiting 
for the time when their change shall come (1 Thes. 4:14), (1 
Cor. 15:51-54), (John 5:28), and s*o we read that Job, who be- 
lieved God said, "If a man die, shall he live again ? All the days 
of my appointment time will I wait till my change come. Thou 
shalt call, and I will answer thee" (Job. 14:14-15). "I know 
that my redeemer liveth" (Job. 19:25-27). Thus all are reck- 
oned as alive, although asleep in death, in the grave, in oblivion ; 
and therefore it is said that God is not the God of the dead, but 
of the living. (Matt. 22:32). It was the sleeping souls — the 
sentient persons of the saints in death — that John saw (Rev. 
20:4), who were resurrected from their graves and were living 
and reigning in Christ in the Kingdom of God for a thousand 
years. It was the sleeping souls — the sentient persons of the 
wicked — that John saw (Rev. 20:12) resurrected, and judgment 



Both of the Just arid the Unjust 59 



was then given unto them, but not according to the deeds done 
in this life, unless there were those who before death had a 
knowledge of Christ but failed to live it (Luke 12:47). The 
wicked are not counted sinners by God except they had once 
heard of the righteousness of God either through the law, or 
the prophets, or the preaching of the gospel, because "God was in 
Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their 
trespasses unto them" (2 Cor. 5:19). The wicked are reminded 
that if they will seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon 
His name, forsake their evil way and their thoughts, and return 
unto Him, He will have mercy on them and abundantly pardon 
them (Isaiah 55), cast all their sins which they have committed 
behind His back, remove them as far as the east is from the 
west, and remember their sins no more against them. (Ps. 
103:12). We shall all be judged in righteousness "according as 
our works shall be" if we put on the righteousness of Christ. 
And those who have not gained a knowledge of the Christ life 
before they die shall be given a knowledge of Him in the age to 
come (the Millenium) after they have been resurrected from 
death. 



60 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER TEN. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion, that the wicked heathen who have never heard of Christ, are 
to be favored by God because of their ignorance or that they shall 
be eternally lost. 

The Bible is very plain in its statement of facts concerning the 
lost. It expressly declares that God will have all men to be saved 
and come unto the knowledge of the truth. The Bible also 
teaches that although one may become saved that one may fall 
from the favor of God for having willfully rejected the path of 
the just because of the deceitfulness of riches or the pleasures 
of this age, and be among those who shall be lost forever. This 
was true of the angels who "kept not their first estate, but left 
their own habitation," and it is equally true of men. Our Heav- 
enly Father is a God of mercy, compassion, sympathy, tender- 
ness and love, and He must be true to His promise and give 
every one an equal chance. He has promised to give to the Chris- 
tians the heathen for their inheritance. There is hope for them 
after the resurrection and Paul was so firm in this that he de- 
clared that "they shall understand." So now, as Christians, we 
should qualify to become heirs of God so that we will be found 
worthy as preachers to the heathen in the age to come and win 
them as our inheritance. 

Therefore, if there is hope in Christ after His second advent 
after the resurrection of the just and the unjust, then there must 
be hope of being made a partaker of the Everlasting Life, an in- 
dividual chance for every man, woman and child, who in this 
life has never come to a knowledge of the truth, but for whom 
Christ gave Himself a ransom to be testified to them in due 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 61 



time (Tim. 2 :6) ; their due time being after their resurrection. 
The first death is because of Adam's sin of disobedience (Rom. 
5:12); but the second death will be because of our individual 
sin committed after having come to the exact knowledge of the 
truth (Ezek. 18:19-32). Therefore, none can be really lost ex- 
cept those who have been once led to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9), 
(Rom. 10:13-15) and fail to continue to live to the end (Matt. 
10:22) the overcoming life; having become reprobate. 

According to the above statements we must conclude that in 
spite of what men have taught to the contrary, it is a fact sup- 
ported by the Scriptures that there is a period of probation, a 
chance to attain unto the Everlasting Life, for all those who are 
now dead and who have never yet heard of Christ. The Scrip- 
tures emphatically declare that "Except ye be converted and 
become as little children, ye shall not enter the Kingdom of 
Heaven" (Matt. 18:3). "Except a man be begotten again (from 
above) he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3, 5). 
"God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have 
Everlasting Life" (John 3:16). "He that believeth and 
is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall 
be condemned" (Mark 16:16). "For by grace are ye saved 
through faith" (Eph. 2:8). "Faith cometh by hearing, and 
hearing by (doing) the Word of God." (Rom. 10:17). "If 
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt 
believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, 
thou shalt be saved" (Rom. 10:9). The word "believe" comes 
from the old English "by live" and to believe in Christ is to live 
by His example. No one believes any more than he lives in the 
real sense of the word. We believe with the heart (the person). 
If we substitute the word "person" in every place where the 
word "heart' is mentioned in the Bible we will come very near 
the mind of the Spirit. That word "heart" as mentioned in the 



62 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

Bible does not mean the vital organ between the lungs, the blood- 
pump of the body. It means a great deal more than that. It 
means the whole person with all its attributes and its passions. 
We practice what we believe when we listen to the voice of our 
conscience. 

The Philippian jailor cried, "What must I do to be saved?" 
And they said, "Believe on the Lord- Jesus Christ and thou shalt 
be saved . . . and they spoke unto him the Word of the 
Lord" (Acts 16:30-32). The apostle says, "Be ye doers of the 
Word and not hearers only" (Jas. 1:22-25). Paul declared, 
"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 
How, then, shall they call on Him in whom they have not be- 
lieved? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have 
not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" 
(Rom. 10:13-16). Jesus said, "I am the door: by me if any man 
enter in, he shall be saved" (John 10:9). 

Therefore, we must concluded that the Scriptures declare most 
emphatically that before any one can be eternally lost, that one 
must have had testified to him, in a way he can thoroughly un- 
derstand, the fact that Jesus Christ has tasted death for every 
one, and that only through Him and faith in Him are we made 
partakers of a supernatural life (Everlasting Life) by which we 
are made free from the penalty of Adamic sin — death. "The 
wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23), (Heb. 2:9), (1 Tim. 2:6). 

We are, therefore, justified in saying that everyone must for 
himself hear the Word of God preached by a preacher of the 
Gospel who has been sent of God to preach the Word : that each 
must believe for himself on the Lord Jesus Christ, and not by 
proxy; that each must call upon the name of the Lord before 
he can be saved ; and in order to keep saved he must be a doer 
of the W^ord (Jas. 1:25) and endure to the end (Matt. 10:22), 
(Heb. 2:9), (1 Tim. 2:5-6). 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 63 



CHAPTER ELEVEN. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implica- 
tion, that children who have not reached the age of account ability 
at death are lost, or that they go to heaven above, or to a "spirit- 
world" of any kind. - 

The foregoing, then, will explain how that all the heathen who 
never knew of Christ, all children who have died before reaching 
the age of accountability, or who having reached the age of ac- 
countability have never heard of God's righteousness through 
Christ; all lunatics, all infidels, the deaf, the dumb, blind, 
crippled, epileptic, and all those who are dwarfed and malform- 
ated and otherwise deformed, so that they cannot have an equal 
individual trial for Everlasting Life in this age with their fel- 
low-men because of inherited weakness of the flesh, will get an 
individual trial in the age to come, in the Kingdom of God, be- 
cause the Scriptures say that the first death is because of in- 
herited weakness, because our fathers ate a sour grape and the 
children's teeth have been set on edge ; but after the resurrection 
it shall no more be said thus, but the children shall eat a sour 
grape and their own teeth shall be set on edge in that day (Jer. 
31 129-30), (Ezek. 18th Chap.). In the judgment God will not 
judge after the hearing of the ear, but according as our in- 
dividual life shall be after having been led to repentance (2 Pet. 
3:9) and been taught the truth (1 Tim. 2:3-4) independent of 
the weaknesses inherited from our parents and forefathers, not 
having our weaknesses imputed to us. (Ps. 103:8-14). We are 
glad the Bible tells us that there shall be those who shall believe 
on Christ after He comes; for "He will be admired of them in 
that day" (2 Thes. 1:10). 



64 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER TWELVE. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implica- 
tion, that all who reject Christ in this life are lost. 

Therefore, all those who reject the Christian life as presented 
by the "orthodox" theories of men, and not in accordance with the 
true plan of God as set forth in His Word and who are weak by 
inheritance so that they cannot comprehend the love of God, 
are not lost; but they are brought up in the resurrection, to be 
given the exact knowledge of the truth, to have an equal chance 
with all others for winning the prize of Everlasting (Zoe 1 ) Life 
on this earth ; to be lived in bodies of flesh and bones, and sinews 
and breath (Ezek. 37th Chap.). No man shall then say to his 
brother, Know the Lord; for they shall all know Him from the 
least to the greatest, and the knowledge of the Lord shall cover 
the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9). Then, if 
the (Zoe) Life is rejected after a certain definite period of pro- 
bation (Isa. 65:20) "the soul that sinneth it shall die" (Heb. 
10:26), (Ezek. 18:20) ; "the wicked shall go away into everlast- 
ing punishment"— NOT PUNISHING— (Greek— kalazo— cut- 
ting off) (Matt. 25 :46) ; "they shall be punished with everlasting 
destruction" (2 Thes. 1 :9) ; "evil-doers shall be cut off and the 
wicked shall not be" (Ps. 37:9-10; "they are vessels of wrath 
fitted for destruction." (Rom. 9:22). "The end of the enemies 



1 "Zoe" is the Greek word which is used to represent supernatural life as compared 
with "psuche" which signifies natural animal life. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 65 

of the cross of Christ is destruction" (Phil. 3:19). "All the 
wicked shall God destroy" (Ps. 145:20). "Wide is the gate 
and broad the way that leadeth to destruction" (Matt. 7-13). 
"The wages of sin is DEATH (Rom. 6:23). "Sin when it is 
finished bringeth forth DEATH" (James 1:15) — not eternal 
misery, remorse of conscience or a literal preservation and un- 
consumable burning in a literal lake of fire and brimstone — but 
literal destruction — death — a returning to dust, to remain dust 
(Psalms 49). 



66 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare, either directly or by implica- 
tion, that death, which is common to all men of this present life, 
is the end of all probation, the end of all hope of salvation. 

Death after this present life is not the destined point on which 
we should dwell as the final windup of all man's hope of salva- 
tion or condemnation; for there is to be a resurrection of all 
the dead (John 5:28-29). Life beyond the resurrection of the 
dead, a certain period of probation during which time each one 
has his trial for Everlasting (Zoe) Life (if he has not had a full 
trial in this present age, independent of inherited weaknesses, 
overcoming the world, the flesh, and the devil, and getting ac- 
quainted with a full knowledge of the truth) — decides all ques- 
tions as to the Everlasting (Zoe) Life. But should one have 
come to a full knowledge of the truth during this present age, 
he has enjoyed the privilege of one fair chance, the only chance 
he will ever get, and having wilfully refused to live it, after hav- 
ing received the power and ability to overcome, it will be impos- 
sible to renew himself again unto repentance (Heb. 6:4-6), 
(Heb. 10:26). 

The Scriptures everywhere declare that unless man can be re- 
covered from the doom of death, to which sin, when it is fin- 
ished, invariably leads, and reunited to God in holiness and love, 
he can have no fitness for the life to come, nor any hope of 
attaining to it. 

Paul, in his wonderful exposition of the Resurrection Life, 
illustrates the power that effects the change; and argues in the 
15th of 1st Corinthians that "if there be no resurrection of the 
dead, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then 
is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 67 



CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion, that only in this present life is there a hope of being made 
a partaker of the Everlasting Life. 

Therefore, Paul says, "If in this (Zoe) Life ONLY WE (the 
Christians who are now converted to the truth and live the (Zoe) 
Life) have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." 
"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ, shall all be made alive, 
but every man in his own order" (1 Cor. 15:19-23), (Job. 14:14- 
15), (Dan. 12:1-3), (Ezek. 37th Chap.). So there must be a hope 
of receiving the (Zoe) Life for those who have never received it 
and who are now dead, but who will be raised up in the resur- 
rection to be given an individual trial for the Everlasting (Zoe) 
Life (Acts 15:13-17). Let us not look upon death as a separa- 
tion of the soul from the body. Death is extinction of life. 

"The law was laid upon man as one individual and indivisible 
unity — not upon his body, nor upon his soul, nor upon his spirit, 
but upon the whole in one : 'Thou shalt not eat/ etc. And the 
penalty was not threatened against any one part of his complex 
nature more than another, but against his whole person, Thou 
shalt die.' 

"Orthodoxy constantly affirms that the man himself does not 
and cannot die. So said the tempter ; so said Plato ; and so says 
our traditional theology which is founded on his philosophy. 
But in opposition to all this the Word of God says, and repeatedly 
and constantly and uniformly says, throughout the whole inspired 
volume: 'Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth DEATH' — 
to the sinning man — not merely to one part of him, but to the 
entire man. And so it is now working out its fearful and inevit- 



68 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



able results in every sinning soul, and when its sad work is fin- 
ished, whether sooner or later, the sinner must die; and were it 
not for that new life which is begotten in the children of God 
through grace in Christ which is not natural, but altogether super- 
natural, there would be no hope for any man." — J. H. Pettingell. 

Man is greater than body, greater than soul, greater than 
spirit. He is the perfect combination of all. Man — the whole 
MAN — is the subject of redemption; it is the MAN for whom 
Christ gave Himself; it is the MAN who is to be resurrected 
from the dead. It is the whole MAN that dies. Nothing is 
said in the Bible about the destiny of the soul or the spirit of 
man; but it is all concerning the destiny of the MAN. The per- 
sonality of man does not reside in one of the parts but in the 
whole. It is the whole person that lives. It is the whole person 
that dies. 

Orthodoxy speaks of "the immortality of the soul" — "the 
worth of a human soul" — "the loss of the soul" — "the salvation 
of the soul" — "the torment of the soul," but the Bible only speaks 
of the immortality of the man — the value of a man — the loss of 
the man — the salvation of the man — the torment and suffering of 
the living man — the resurrection of the dead man. 

Man is classed in the Bible as a unit. Truly he is composed of 
three parts, a spirit, a soul and a body of flesh ; but it is the com- 
bination of all that makes the person a man, a unit. Neither of 
the parts of the man alone is a man. Man is a unit in his crea- 
tion ; in his fall ; in his death ; in his resurrection ; in his redemp- 
tion; in his life everlasting; in his everlasting destruction in the 
second death. Man is regarded as one, as a unit throughout the 
Bible and the great question that is the subject of so much fac- 
tional strife and unrest in the Church is, "If a MAN die shall 
HE live again?" 

When men assume that all probation ends with the second ad- 
vent of Christ, they assume that which is not sustained by the 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 69 



Scriptures. Their assumptions are based upon the erroneous 
teaching that the earth is going to be burned up literally, while 
the Scriptures declare "the earth abideth forever" (Eccl. 1 :4) 
and that the fire which is to cleanse this earth is the fire of God's 
jealous love (Zeph. 3:8-9) after the second advent of Christ, 
when the population will still remain on the earth; for then all 
the families of the earth are to be blessed in the seed of Abraham 
(the elect Church, whom Christ will bring with him), who will 
preach the Gospel to the people. This burning was prophesied 
by Malachi who said, "The day cometh that shall burn" (Mai. 
4:1-3). This day is the thousand-year day (2 Pet. 3:7-9) during 
which time the King and His Bride shall rule and reign over 
all the earth and destroy, root and branch, everything that is evil 
and offensive and unrighteous in the Kingdom of God. (Matt. 
13:41), (Mai. 4:3). 

"God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, 
but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17). 
This was the purpose of Christ's first advent. We are saved 
from interminable, everlasting death through the blood He shed. 
Christ purchased us with the price of His precious blood by 
which He bought our redemption. The Lord is not willing that 
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and to 
a knowledge of the truth concerning the great salvation. 

As a people we are all weighted down by the curse of original 
sin. We are all anxious to be relieved of this weight. So the 
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, 
waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom. 8 :19-22) 
(THE ELECT CHURCH) through whom we shall be delivered 
from the bondage that now oppresses us on every hand, and 
through whom those who have died shall be delivered from death 



70 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



and shall come forth out of their graves (Dan. 12:1-2), (John 
5:28-29), (1 Cor. 15:22) in the resurrection, so that "they shall 
all know Him from the least to the greatest." The purpose of 
Christ's first advent was to ransom us from everlasting death. 
The purpose of Christ's second advent is to deliver us from ever- 
lasting death through a resurrection from the death state, when 
we shall receive our reward (Rev. 11:18), some to everlasting 
life and some to shame and everlasting contempt (Dan. 12:2). 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 71 



CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion, that there is absolutely no hope of salvation beyond the 
grave for those who have never heard of Christ. 

"Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrec- 
tion of the dead. As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall 
ALL be made alive, but every man in his own order" (i Cor. 
15:21-23). 

The Greek disciples understood this expression, "his own 
order" as "his own bunch" or "his own band," denoting that 
in the resurrection of both the just and the unjust, bands of 
people will be resurrected at intervals during the whole of the 
thousand-year-period of Christ's reign on earth, in order to 
be given an individual chance for Everlasting Life, if they 
have never heard of Christ. 1 

This view, which is prominent in the Bible, is known to 
modern theology as "second probation." But the Bible is 
too plain to be misunderstood by unbiased men, and it con- 
stantly and most emphatically asserts that humanity is a 
bundle of inherited weaknesses because of the disobedience 
of our fathers which was visited upon the generations (Ex. 
20:5) which followed; that "the fathers have eaten sour grapes, 
and the children's teeth are set on edge"; but that in the age 
to come "ye shall not have occasion any more to use this 
proverb" (Ezek. 18:2-3) : for "the son shall not bear the iniq- 
uity of the father ; neither shall the father bear the iniquity of 

1 "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished" 
(Rev. 20:5) is not found in the Vatican Mss., and it is not sustained by any other 
passage of the Bible. Syriac scholars declare it is not a part of the original Apocalypse. 



72 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

the son." ''But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he 
hath committed, and will keep all God's statutes, and do that 
which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 
All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not 
be mentioned unto him" (Ezekiel 18th Chapter). This last 
statement has to do only with those who are resurrected to 
life. 

The above is not a "second probation" nor a "second chance" 
for any man ; but it is a full chance that God has promised to 
every one for whom Christ died and who has never heard 
or come to a knowledge of the truth. The promise must be 
fulfilled. This promise God gave to Abraham (Rom. 4:13), 
(Rom. 11 :25-33). It cannot be fulfilled until God takes out of the 
Gentiles "a people for his name" (the Bride) and until He has 
rebuilt the tabernacle of David, that the residue of men might 
seek the Lord (Acts 15:14-17), and until the dead have been 
resurrected out of their graves, every man in his own order 
or rank (1 Cor. 15:22-23). 

''There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an 
old man that hath not filled his days." The heathen, the wick- 
ed, the crippled, the young children who have died and who 
have not believed the Gospel because they were too young to 
understand and had no chance to hear it preached (Rom. 
10:14-15), will now have an individual chance for Everlasting 
Life : "for the child shall die an hundred years old ; but the 
sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed" (Isa. 
65 :2o). Then, as it is written, "whosoever liveth and believeth 
in me shall never die" (John 11:25-26). This latter passage 
can be applied literally only to those who live after Christ's 
second presence. 

Orthodox theology constantly asserts that a knowledge of 
these things — the hope and resurrection of the dead — is not 
essential to salvation, is no topic to set before the people, and 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 73 



that it is a dangerous doctrine, having a tendency to make 
men put off living the Christian life in the hope that they will 
get "another chance" after death. This assertion, however, 
is a false one because it is founded upon the assumption that man 
is deathless by nature ; that there shall be no resurrection from 
death; that death is not death; that God told a lie when He 
said, "Ye shall surely die" ; that Satan told the truth when he 
said "Ye shall not surely die." It is because of the ignorance 
of men who wrest the Scriptures that we do not hear more 
words of real comfort on this very important subject which 
has been so much neglected. When Paul wrote his epistle 
to the Thessalonians he very tenderly said : 

"I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning 
them which are asleep — (not concerning them which are up in 
heaven in a mansion, playing on golden harps and taking an 
eternal rest — but, concerning them which are asleep) that ye 
sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we 
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which 
sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say 
unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive 
and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (go 
before) them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall 
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch- 
angel, and with the trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall 
rise first : (out of their earthly graves) then we which are alive 
and remain shall be caught away together with them in the 
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be 
with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these 
words" (i Thes. 4:13-18). 

We would ask why is it that so many Christians pray God 
to "make sinners afraid to die" so that in their fear they might 
turn to serve Him? Why is it that so many claim they are 
not . afraid to die since they are Christians, that they are 



74 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



ready at all times to die; but as soon as they get sick, preacher 
and layman alike, they get the best doctor lest they should 
die? Why is it that modern theologians say that a knowledge 
of the future state is not essential to salvation and at the same 
time they hold up before the people the cry, "Where will you 
spend eternity?" And their preaching is so full of harrowing tales 
of the agonies of death which they relate with the hope of bring- 
ing men to repentance. Jesus would pass the same judgment 
upon such teachers who wrest the Scriptures that He passed 
upon the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection of 
the dead — "Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power 
of God." 

If perchance there is some disappointment regarding a saintly 
brother or sister, father or mother, child, friend or relative, 
who you hoped was already in heaven above, then let us look 
at the other side — how many of our loved ones, friends and 
foes and neighbors, perhaps our own incorrigible, maliciously 
mischievous children, according to the theories of modern 
theology, have been suffering torment and untold agonies of 
pain and misery since their death and will continue to suffer for 
ages to come — is there any comfort or relief of mind in believ- 
ing that the few saintly loved ones are enjoying eternal bliss 
while the many unsaintly ones, relatives and friends alike, who 
are full of inherited weaknesses and evil propensities and who 
never knew Christ, are doomed. 

It is encouraging selfish motives in the daily life of men to 
preach a doctrine that would have men live the Christian life 
with no other object in view than to escape a hell of eternal 
torment, pain and misery and to gain a mansion in the skies 
while for their friends they have no concern. 

This is not in accordance with the Gospel preached by Christ, 
who taught His disciples, "If any man will come after me, let 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 75 

him deny HIMSELF, and take up his cross, and follow me; 
for whosoever will save his life shall lose it." 

It is much more comfortable to take the view of the Bible 
which declares that all who never knew of Christ are in their 
graves with the just waiting for the resurrection that will take 
place during the thousand-year-period of Christ's reign on 
earth, when they shall be given an individual chance to gain 
Everlasting Life. If the individual had never had a fair trial 
before his death, he will then get one that will not be hampered 
by lack of a knowledge of the truth in the preaching of God's 
ministers, by evil spirits or by lack of ability to perform the will 
of God. If the individual had enjoyed the Christian life before 
his death, but was not far enough advanced to be able to com- 
prehend the full light because of the presence of oppressive 
spirits or weaknesses of the flesh, he will be raised in the resur- 
rection and go on to win the Everlasting Life where he left 
off at death, and through prayer, watching, and overcoming 
and strict obedience to God, he will win Everlasting Life. 



76 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 



The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion that death after this present life is the close of any further 
growing in the wisdom, knowledge, or grace of God, or that 
tvhen a man dies, either the soid or the spirit of the man leaves 
the body to divell in a spirit-land in a conscious and intelligent 
state of being. 

If the above be Scriptural, then the dead, spirit, soul and body 
are absolutely dead, unconscious, and in a state of oblivion 
(Hebrews — sheol, Greek — hades) in hell — a hidden state — the 
same state that Christ was in for three days after He poured 
out His soul unto death and was cut off out of the land of the 
living (Isa. 53:8-12), in which state the wicked dead are RE- 
SERVED until the day of judgment (2 Pet. 2:9), and the 
righteous dead are PRESERVED spirit, soul and body unto 
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (i Thes. 5 123) . 

"In death there is no remembrance of thee ; in the grave, 
(Heb. — sheol) who shall give thee thanks?" (Ps. 6:5). 

"Let the wicked be ashamed and let them be silent in the 
grave" (Ps. 31 117). 

"The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into 
silence" (Ps. 115 \ij). 

To assume that the soul or spirit of man is a living, conscious, 
intelligent entity, independent of the body, ever living — never 
dying — by the use of doubtful disputations, dark sayings and 
symbolical parables, would be unfair and far-fetched. Some are 
inclined to use the story of the scene that took place upon the 
mount of transfiguration to prove the theory of the natural 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 77 

immortality of the soul ; but we would remind them that the 
scene was but a vision ; for Jesus charged the Disciples to "tell 
the vision to no man until the Son of man be risen from the 
dead" (Matt. 17:1-9). To assume too much, to take theories 
for granted ; to dwell upon preconceived notions is to wrest the 
Scriptures to one's own hurt. One should build only upon 
irresistible facts. 

Some quote (2 Cor. 5 :8) to sustain the theory of the natural 
immortality of the soul. Paul speaks of the time when mor- 
tality shall be swallowed up of (Zoe) Life (2 Cor. 5:4) which 
time he says will be after the second advent (1 Cor. 15 151-54) ; 
and being in assured hope of an immortal body, he is burdened 
with laboring to keep his flesh nature under, to approve him- 
self to Christ. He has the first installment, the earnest of the 
Spirit, the witness of the Spirit within, that he will become a 
glorified immortal person if he meets certain conditions. He 
knows he is absent from Christ because he still has a mortal 
body (2 Cor. 5 :6) ; but being willing to receive an immortal 
body when the proper time comes for such to be given, and 
then to be present with the Lord (for we cannot be present with 
Him until we are like Him, 1 John 3 \2) he is laboring to meet 
the conditions (1 John 3:3). 

Paul says God has appointed a day of judgment (Acts. 17:31), 
(1 Cor. 3:13-15), when we shall all stand before the judgment 
seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10) ; this day being after Messiah the 
King has appeared (Matt. 16:27), (2 Tim. 4:1), (Jude 14, 15), 
(Rev. 22:12), at which time Paul expects to receive his re- 
ward (2 Tim. 4:8), but between the time he speaks in the flesh 
and the time his reward is to be given, he expects his whole 
spirit and soul and body to be preserved blameless unto the 
coming of our Lord (1 Thes. 5:23), in the grave (John 5:28), 
asleep in Jesus (1 Cor. 15:12-15) ; for it is appointed unto all 
men once to die (Heb. 9:27), and as in Adam all die, even so 



78 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 






in Christ shall all be made alive (i Cor. 15 '.22), resurrected from 
the first death (the "hades" death), some to be given Ever- 
lasting Life ; some to be left to die again, to perish in their own 
corruption in (the "gehenna" death), the second death, "the 
death of the age." Any doctrine contrary to this will be con- 
demned by Revelations (22:18-19, 22:7). 

In harmony with this, we read (John 8:51) as it is in the 
original Greek manuscript, "If any one keep my word he will 
by no means see "death (of the age)." There are two deaths: 
the first, of this age, called the "hades" death, or the Adamic 
death, which we must all suffer because of Adamic sin (He- 
brew 9:27-28), and the second, of the age to come, called the 
"gehenna" death, which is only for the wilfully disobedient. 
Between the two deaths there is a resurrection to life. There 
can be no second death until there has been a second life. 

It is the day of judgment, the Day of the Lord, the thousand- 
year-day, that Abraham saw (John 8:56), for God had promised 
him the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession (Genesis 
13:14-17), (Acts 7:5), during which day the promise will 
be fulfilled (Acts 26 :6-8) to Abraham and the Jews, who will be 
resurrected after the Christ, their Messiah, has come (Matt. 
8:11). Then all who keep the Word of Christ the King, wilj 
by no means see the death of the age ; but if they fail to keep 
the Word of the King, they WILL see the death of the age 
(the "gehenna" death) from which there will be no more resur- 
rection (Heb. 10:26). 

In harmony with this Jesus said : "Fear not them which kill 
the body, but are not able to kill 1 the soul" (Matt. 10:28). The 
soul is the natural life. The natural life is immaterial and can- 
not exist independent of the body of flesh which is material. 
When the body is killed the natural life must die. The breath 



1 The Greek word used here is "aDokteino" which means "to kill entirely," so that 
no resurrection to life can be possible. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 79 



of life returns to God. The whole man falls asleep in death and 
remains so until his turn comes to be resurrected ; the original 
man returns to dust. In the resurrection or bringing back to 
life again, the original bones come together, new flesh, perfect 
in every detail, will cover them, the breath will be restored, the 
old character of the original man, his spirit (consciousness) 
and soul (natural senses) will be revived, and he shall be a 
living person again, full of intelligence and ability to perform 
as a free moral agent without any hindrance except his own will 
(i Cor. 15:35-38), (Ezek. 37th Chap.). 

Just as the grain contains in itself the body that is to be, so 
the body that once was contains in it the seed life of the new 
body that shall be because of the fact that Christ purchased 
this new life by giving Himself a ransom for all. Just as the 
Christ was literally planted in death, so must we ; and "if we 
have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we 
shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection." 

The fact that Christ gave Himself to save us from intermin- 
able death will be testified to all those who have been ignorant 
of it in this present life and who have been resurrected to be 
given a fair trial to attain unto Everlasting Life (Rev. 14:6) 
through the preaching of that day (Rom. 10:13-15), (Jer. 
3 :i4~i8), (Rom. 15 :2i). Those who have not been ignorant of 
these things should "rather fear Him (God) who is able to 
destroy (not — keep preserved in an unconsumable fire — but, 
able to destroy) both soul and body in hell (in gehenna — the 
second death)." 

There are two words in the Greek manuscripts which in the 
English have been translated hell. Each word has a specific 
meaning which the other does not convey. The one is "hades" 5 
the other "gehenna." We must know which passages refer 
to the one or the other in order to rightly divide the Word. 
"Hades" is meant in (Matt. 11:23, 16:18), (Luke 10:15, 16:23), 



80 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



(Acts 2\2J, 31), (Rev. 1:18, 6:8, 20:13, 14). "Gehenna" is 
meant in (Matt. 5:22, 29), (Matt. 10:28, 18:9, 23:15, 23:33), 
(Mark 9:43, 45, 47), (Luke 12:5), (Jas. 3:6). The ''Gehenna" 
death does not take effect until the second advent of Christ 
has taken place, and until judgment has been given, against 
those who reject the life of righteousness. 

Jesus said, "He that believeth on the Son hath Everlasting 
(Zoe) Life (John 5:24). He has the seed of Everlasting Life 
(Christ) in him in that he has put on the Christ who is the 
Seed. The Spirit of the Father dwells in him. But like the 
grain of corn (1 Cor. 15:35-38) the body, soul, and spirit of 
man, must first be put in the grave state — must die — and go 
on to corruption before it can bring forth the fruit of Everlast- 
ing Life (John 12:24), (Mark 4:26-28), ( Cor. 15:35-38). As 
Christians we are expected to become baptized in water in 
answer to a good conscience toward God and as a public con- 
fession of our faith in His shed blood, in order that we may 
become active members of His body (which is the Church), 
walking in the newness of (Zoe) Life ; a Life that is under the 
law of the Holy Spirit, ordered and controlled by the Spirit 
(Rom. 8:2). The Holy Spirit will then guide us in the way o{ 
all truth. Godliness is the root of the Everlasting Life. 
"Godliness is profitable unto all, having promise of the (Zoe) 
Life that now is and of that — (Zoe) Life — which is to come." 
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. "For 
therefore, we both labor and suffer reproach" (1 Tim. 4:8-10). 

The BREATH of the spirit of life, breathed into our nostrils 
at birth by the Father — (Heb-ruach) — does not die when the man 
dies. It returns to God, who gave it. It is the same breath 
that keeps fire alive, that keeps all plants, insects, fish, and 
every living creature alive. The spirit of the man which the 
breath energizes dies with the soul and body when the ener- 
gizing principle is withdrawn. As soon as "they who shall 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 81 

hear His Voice" shall have been given the breath again, they 
"shall come forth" out of their graves; the Holy, Spirit shall 
raise them (Rom. 8:11); and the (Zoe) Life "which is to 
come" will keep them alive so long as they are obedient to God. 

There are but two more direct passages in the Bible which 
men can quote to sustain the theory of the natural immortality 
of the soul or spirit. The one is the words of Stephen at his 
stoning. 

Satan in order to deceive people has in many ways gotten 
those who translated the Common Version to mistranslate. 
He uses the most subtle ways to deceive and abuse the mind. 
So it has been in this case. The wrong word has been set in 
the English Bible at this particularly vital point and, therefore, 
Stephen is made to say, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit," when 
the proper translation should read, "Lord Jesus SUSTAIN my 
spirit" or "help me to suffer" (Booth-Lexicon). If it is said 
that a part of Stephen went to heaven, could there be two 
Stephens? There was one "stoned" who "fell asleep and de- 
vout men carried Stephen to his burial" (Acts 8:1-2). Was 
Stephen really buried or did Stephen go to heaven? Was the 
spirit of Stephen another Stephen? 

The other passage is in reference to the souls John saw, 
"under the altar" (Rev. 6:9). The altar being the surface of 
the earth, then the souls under the altar must be those that are 
in the grave waiting for the rest of the saints to be slain. The 
souls are crying out, like the blood of Abel, symbolically not 
literally, for there is silence in the grave (Ps. 31:17, 146:4). 
All the senses are dead in death. As in Adam's creation, the 
bringing together of an organized body and the breath of (the 



82 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

• 

spirit of) life produced a living soul, a sentient person, (a 
person with living senses), so when the breath of the spirit of 
life is withdrawn, the organism is without the senses and the 
person becomes a dead soul; the organism begins to go to cor- 
ruption — to return to dust — and the breath of the spirit of life 
returns to God who gave it. 



>~ote — In reading the story of the transfiguration you will notice that the Scripture 
says, "there appeared unto them (the disciples) Moses and Elias." Moses and Elias 
■were not literally present. They only appeared to he present. Christ says it was a 
vsion. A vision is an apparition. 






Both of the Just and the Unjust 83 



CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

The Scriptures nozvhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion, that in death there is a living intelligence or consciousness. 

It is absurd for men of brain and intelligence to teach that 
the real man is not the one which is conceived, born a child to 
live on to maturity, to die, to be buried, to corrupt, to return 
to dust, and to be raised from the dead, but is one who has no 
body of matter, neither' breadth, length, thickness, outside or 
inside; and that such an one goes to heaven above to praise 
the Lord, while his organs of speech are dead in the grave ; to 
see Jesus and the angels while his eyes are closed in death ; to 
hear the songs of heaven, while his ears are decaying in the 
coffin ; and to enjoy the rapture of the celestials while all his 
senses are rotting in the ground. Has man two sets of organs, 
one of which dies with the man, and another that leaves at 
death? The Scriptures plainly teach: 

"Yea, man giveth up the ghost (breath) and where is he? 
His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not ; and they are. 
brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them" (Job 14:10, 21). 

"His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very 
day his thoughts perish" (Ps. 146:4). 

"In death there is no remembrance of thee" (Ps. 6 :5). 

"The dead praise not the Lord" (Ps. 115:17). 

"The dead know not anything . . . for the memory of 
them is forgotten, also their love, and their hatred, and their 
envy, is perished" (Eccl. 9:5-6). 

"That which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts. 
They have all one breath" — (Hebrew — ruach), (Eccl. 3:19-20). 



84 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



The question is asked in the Bible, "Who knoweth the spirit 
of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth 
downward to the earth?" We might answer that only those 
"orthodox" religious leaders and teachers know who say that 
the soul or spirit of man is immortal, indestructible, never- 
dying, deathless by nature. If the soul could not die then 
there would be no need of fearing Him who hath the power to 
destroy both soul and body in hell (Greek — gehenna — the sec- 
ond death), (Matt. 10:28), (Ezek. 18:4). In harmony with this 
we read : "For what is a man advantaged if he gain the whole 
world, and lose himself, or be (not preserved in a state of 
misery and torment — but) cast away (Luke 9:25). 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 85 



CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 

The Scriptures nowhere declare either directly or by implica- 
tion, that the dead can either see, hear, taste, smell, or feel while 
in the death state; or that either the spirit, soul, or body of a dead 
man has attributes. 

If the dead have conscious intelligence and senses, then 
it would not have been written "there is no work, nor device, 
nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave (Hebrew — sheol . . . • 
hell, grave, oblivion) whither thou goest" (Eccl. 9:10). 

It is a well-known fact that one can be injured or become 
so weak m sickness that one cannot pray because that one's 
spirit is so depressed. It is reasonable, then, to say, or to sup- 
pose, that, while sickness or injury to the brain or any other 
vital organ of the body — which is not fatal — which may pro- 
duce paralysis, insanity or insensibility for a time, injuriously 
affects the spirit, so that its activity and freedom is hampered 
or impeded, an injury that is much greater — that is fatal — does 
not hamper, impede, depress or injuriously affect the spirit's con- 
sciousness and activity at all, but only gives it greater freedom of 
action, intelligence and feeling? There is absolutely no expres- 
sion either in the writings of the ancient patriarchs, prophets, 
apostles or in the sayings of Christ that would teach either 
directly or by implication, when understood, that there is in man, 
by nature, an immortal never-dying soul or spirit or that anything 
else leaves man at death but the breath of life, the wind, the air, 
the breath. 

Is it in harmony with reason or common sense or the Scrip- 
tures to teach, or even to believe, or to suppose that if a blow 



86 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

upon the head will make a person unconscious, then a dozen 
blows more severe, which would completely crush the head would 
produce consciousness; when "the real man," "the inner man," 
the spirit, would escape from his prison, the body, and go up to 
heaven, to praise the Lord while his friends on earth were mourn- 
ing over his "remains ?" 

When a person absolutely sound in body and in good health 
goes to sleep, that person, so far as his spirit is concerned, is as 
dead as a stone to all surrounding noises and actions, and is in 
a state of unconsciousness. To awaken before the usual hour of 
awakening, that person must be disturbed by being handled or by 
a call. One might call out loudly any other name except the 
proper name of that person and yet fail to be heard by him; but 
should that person's name be mentioned two or three times or 
even once in most cases in just as loud a tone as was used in call- 
ing another name not his own, immediately the one asleep would 
respond to the call and awaken. That person was sound asleep 
and absolutely dead or dormant in spirit for the time being. His 
spirit was dead, but his body, the organs of which were perform- 
ing their proper functions in digesting food, was alive. All 
through the hours of sleep the body grows, the heart beats, the 
blood flows, the stomach works, the wornout tissues are mend- 
ing. 

In the death state all three parts of man die. The man "falls on 
sleep" (Acts 7:16) "and is laid unto his father's," and goes to 
corruption (Acts 13 :36). The fathers "fell asleep" (2 Pet. 3 :4), 
(1 Cor. 15:13-18). 

The sleep of man — the death of his spirit — every night is fol- 
lowed by a resurrection to life every morning at the call of the 
name of that person, or the awakening from sleep at the usual 
hour of rising. This is a type of the resurrection of the dead, but 
if the real essential man does not die then there will be nothing 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 87 

that needs resurrection. The whole man — spirit, soul, and body 
— in death, ceases to live; he passes into a state of oblivion, 
unconsciousness. Life is extinct. The whole man waits in the 
grave for his proper time to be called in the resurrection, "every 
one in his own order" (1 Cor. 15:22-23) at the sound of the 
voice of the archangel (1 Thes. .4:16) with the trumpet, being 
called from the sleep of death (Job 14:14-15), to receive his 
judgments and rewards on this earth (Jude 14) after the coming 
of the Messiah. It will be the spirit of the man that will hear 
the Voice call the man to come out of the grave — (John 5 :28). 

Observe closely that Jesus said to Peter, ''Whither I go, thou 
canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards. 
If I go away, I will come (to earth) again, and receive you unto 
myself that where I am (on earth) there ye may be also" — (John 
13:36—14:3). 

Paul writing to the Church at Thessalonica, "concerning those 
who are asleep" (in death) mentions in some detail many things 
concerning the resurrection of the dead, and then exhorts the dis- 
ciples to "comfort one another" that they might not be ignorant 
concerning the resurrection and that they might not sorrow as 
those who have no hope (1 Thes. 4:13 — 5:4). The religion of 
Christ is a religion of comfort and gladness and satisfaction 
capable of giving peace and joy to all people who will to do the 
will of Jehovah. 



88 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER NINETEEN. 

The Scriptures noivhere declare, either directly or by implica- 
tion, that either the spirit or the soul of a man has weight, or that 
they ever leave the regions of this earth, or that they are sepa- 
rated from the body zchen death takes place or at any time after 
death. 

Since the law of gravitation tends to force all substance of 
weight to the earth's surface, it cannot be said that the man's 
spirit, or what is generally termed "the real man," has weight, if 
it be true that "the real man" goes to a heaven above the earth. If 
man was made of the dust of the ground, and must return to dust 
again (Gen. 3:19), (Eccl. 3:21) there is no use teaching that the 
man, either his spirit (Greek-pneuma), his soul (Greek-psuche), 
or his body of flesh (Greek-sarx) ever goes to a heaven above 
the earth, or ever leaves the vicinity of the earth. 

If the spirit of man — which is supposed by some to be "the 
real man" — that part of a good man that goes up to heaven, or 
that part of a bad man that goes to a hell of torment imme- 
diately after death of the body — is a finite substance, then it is 
material, and must consist of matter and be an organism. If 
it is an organism then it can be disorganized ; if it is material then 
it is a compound and must have weight and other attributes, and 
have that property of bodies by which they tend toward the cen- 
ter of the earth. 

Material things cannot possibly exist without their immaterial 
attributes. It is as impossible for life to exist without a material 
body, as it is for love to exist without a lover, or thought with- 
out a thinker, or sin without a sinner. It is impossible to have 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 89 



consciousness or intelligence without life. The spirit of man 
must be either material or immaterial; if immaterial, it has neither 
weight nor attributes and therefore cannot exist as an intelligent 
entity apart from life. All immaterial things cease with the 
material objects in which they are contained, because all imma- 
terial things must proceed from a material. 

Man being constituted spirit, soul, and body of flesh, being of 
the earth and made out of the earth, must always remain with 
the earth, and must follow the course of God's inexorable law, 
"dust that art, and unto (not — heaven shalt thou return — but 
unto) dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:19). Whatever was 
meant by "THOU" is always synonymous with "MAN" since 
the creature was not called "MAN" until he was fully alive, 
being a compound of a spirit, a soul, and a body of flesh and bone, 
infused with breath of life. 

After man was formed he was a dead, lifeless, material, cor- 
poreal body of substance; but after God put the breath of life 
into his nostrils, he became a living soul, an animated body of 
substance, of the earth earthy, constituted to remain earth, 
except on condition that man fulfil the commands of Christ 
(Matt. 22:37-39) and win the prize of immortality by patient 
continuance in well-doing, when the man — the whole man — at 
the proper time, will be changed in the twinkle of an eye ( 1 Cor. 
15:51-58), and will receive a glorified, angelic, ethereal body 
like that of the glorified Christ's, an indestructible body, not 
subject to geographical limitations or the laws of gravitation, 
which glorified body will have its abode on this earth anyway, 
in an ethereal state, with Christ, as a part of the Bride, the 
Lamb's wife (Rev. 21 :2), who will act as priests and kings in the 
Kingdom of God (Rev. 5:10) on this earth, Christ the Head, 
being King of kings and High Priest. Christians are not now 
worthy of being kings and priests and never can be until the time 



90 The* Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



appointed after the First Resurrection has taken place, and such 
rewards have been given to those members of the Body of Christ 
who, according to their several abilities are worthy of such posi- 
tions in the Kingdom of God ; some who are worthy being made 
rulers over one city, and others rulers over ten cities (Luke 19:12- 
27) according to their qualifications. 

Jesus and all the Apostles and early Disciples hinged all their 
hopes of the future (Zoe) Life and all their preaching of the 
truth on the "hope and resurrection of the dead" (1 Cor. 15:11- 
21) ; for if the dead rise not, let us eat, drink, and be merry, for 
tomorrow we die (1 Cor. 15:32.) We repeat again: can it be 
possible for man to have two sets of organs and senses, one which 
dies with the man and another which escapes death? 

Man is a "creature." He was created, therefore he can be un- 
created. He was organized, therefore he may be disorganized. 
He had a beginning, therefore he may have an end. 

Man is not a "being." The loose way we have of giving expres- 
sion to the nature of man was without doubt brought on by 
Satan's deception, by his lie, "Ye shall not surely die . . . 
ye shall be as gods," which he has perpetuated and forced upon 
the Church. If man were a "being" in the strict sense of the 
word, as we commonly call him — a human being — he would not 
be a creature; for a creature must have a Creator and must be 
subject to disorganization, death. But a "being" — there is but 
one Being — is by nature deathless, eternal. 

If man is a "being" he therefore never began to be, and hence 
he cannot cease to be. Consequently we have the theory of the 
natural immortality of man. And when "orthodoxy" speaks of 
death of a man it says, "he passed away," meaning by this that 
the real man "the soul" has passed on to heaven or to hell and 
left the regions of this earth, to be more alive than ever. When 
a dead child is found by the police,, the report goes out imme- 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 91 

diately that "the body of a child was found;" of course, it is 
assumed that the soul of the child has escaped from its prison or 
house, the body, and that it still lives. But it is passing strange 
that when the soul of the child is referred to, it is also called 
by the name of that child. Sometimes we hear the expression 
"the body of John Smith was found" and we wonder where John 
Smith is; and so "orthodoxy" which compromises with him who 
was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth — 
the father of all liars — comes to our rescue and says, "His soul 
goes marching on; John Smith has passed into eternity. His 
body died but he lives." But the Bible says John Smith, spirit, 
soul, and body, is in the grave, either reserved for the day of 
judgment, or preserved unto the coming of our Lord Jesus. 



92 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER TWENTY. 



THRBB KINDS OF UFB. 

Lazarus was a good man, a friend of Jesus. He got sick and 
died. All the orthodox teachers in that day would say that 
Lazarus, spirit, soul and flesh body had gone to hell, to oblivion — 
the hidden, covered up state — the grave. After Jesus came on 
the scene, he called with a loud voice; the dead heard the voice 
and came forth. If Lazarus' spirit or soul had gone to a heaven 
above the earth, or to a so-called paradise, and stayed there four 
consecutive days, why did he not tell us what kind of a time his 
spirit had there, and what the place looked like ? Did Jesus call 
Lazarus' spirit back from heaven? Or from paradise? Let 
Jesus answer (John 11:1-46). "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, 
howbeit Jesus spake of his death, but they thought that He had 
spoken of taking a rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them 
plainly, Lazarus is dead." 

It is a strange fact that men will almost invariably teach that 
when a man dies, his spirit immediately leaves his body and goes 
to its eternal reward; that at death the spirit is at once ushered 
into eternity ; but when relating the story of anyone who was once 
dead and had been raised from the dead like Lazarus, and some- 
one asks where the spirit of Lazarus was the four days he was 
dead, they at once explain away the question or say, "We must 
not lean upon our own understanding." If the spirit of every 
other man at death is ushered at once into eternity, why was not 
Lazarus' spirit ushered into eternity? Does it not seem heartless 
and cruel to have Lazarus' spirit taken away from heaven above, 
where every other good man's spirit is said to be consciously en- 
joying eternal bliss and happiness, and to have it placed back into 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 93 

the corrupt body again only to escape once more at the death of 
that body? 

These questions will be raised wherever that old lie of Satan, 
the theory of the deathlessness, the natural immortality of the 
man, is taught ; and in order to avoid the questions, men will ex- 
plain away the direct thought only to plunge into a deeper and 
more difficult tangle of questions. 

We all have a Scriptural right to come together to reason out 
of the Bible what is the truth of God. We all ought to strive to 
learn the exact knowledge of the truth (Col. 1:9-14). Philip 
Mauro, in his work, "The Number of Man," says : 

"If there is 'the truth' to be loved and sought, there is also 'the 
lie' to be hated and shunned. The doctrine of the divinity of 
man is either one of the greatest of all truths, or it is one of the 
greatest of all lies. It can occupy no middle ground. If the old 
doctrine of the corruption of human nature is the TRUTH, then 
the modern (and ancient) doctrine that man is (or should be- 
come) 'as God' is the LIE. The original text of 2 Thes. 2:11 
speaks, not of A LIE, but of THE LIE; and to what can this 
refer but to the first of all lies, namely, that man should event- 
ually become, through the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge, 
as God. . . . The Bible says that the acceptance of the lie will 
be because men would not receive the love of the truth. 'Be- 
cause they received not the love of the truth that they might be 
saved, for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that 
they should believe THE LIE' " (2 Thes. 2:10-11). The lie is, 
"Thou shalt not surely die." 

"Here again we have the teachings of the Bible and that of 
popular modern theology in direct opposition one to the other. 
All must agree that, if one of these utterances is 'the truth,' the 
other is 'the lie;' and each must for himself decide which is 
which." 



94 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

We have now dealt with what is known in the Bible as the 
law of sin and death, and we now will examine the law of the 
Spirit of (Zoe) life in Christ Jesus, which all Christians should 
live, and which law makes us free from the law of sin and death, 
and eager to gain Everlasting Life. 

Let us repeat to freshen our memory, that after God formed 
beast and man out of the dust of the ground, they were compound 
inanimate objects or organisms, known in the Scriptures as dead 
souls. It was into these dead souls that God breathed the breath 
of the spirit of life (Genesis 2:7, 6:17, 7:15, 7:21-22), and they 
became living souls. We will again notice that man is composed 
of three parts into which God placed the vital principle, namely, 

English. Hebrew. 



Body . 
Soul . . 
Spirit 
Breath 



flesh and bone 
animal life 
spirit of life. . . 
air or wind 



basur 

nephesh chaiyah 
neshamah chaiyah 
neshamah or ruach 



In the Hebrew, the "neshamah" and the "ruach" are used inter- 
changeably to signify the same thing. 

This compound of three distinct parts in which there is breath, 
is common to both living man and beast and every breathing 
creature ; but man, being made in the image of God, and having 
been given dominion over all other forms of life, although not 
self-existent in himself, has been endowed with a free will and 
the powers of intellectual action ; and has been authorized to ex- 
ercise dominion within the earthly sphere where he is placed ; 
and thereby he becomes a sort of individual sovereignty, a free 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 95 



moral agent with power to will to do or not to do. He has re- 
ceived this power from God through nature, and we call it the 
breath of the spirit of life, or that vital principle of God in the 
air which is breathed by man and which generates, gives energy 
or vitality to the transitory animal life — the sentient person — 
and promotes the mental states, namely: intuition, imagination, 
perception, impression, interest, idea, thought, motive or pur- 
pose, desire, reason, judgment, confidence, volition, exertion, 
which develop into action, habit, character and satisfaction of 
the person and which are conducive to either Everlasting Life or 
everlasting destruction of the person. 

By the aid of certain power and forces which he misuses, 
Satan influences the person through suggestions to one or more 
of the senses of man thereby causing the man to forget God and 
to disobey Him. All the influences that come from God cause 
the man to cleave to that which is good. All the influences that 
come from Satan cause the man to cleave to that which is evil. 

The person (composed of a body of flesh and blood, a soul of 
animal senses which is contained in the blood, a spirit of intelli- 
gence and consciousness) infused with life is an organized crea- 
ture which can be dis-organized. The body depends upon the 
soul for its maintenance ; the soul depends upon the spirit for 
its maintenance ; the spirit depends upon the breath for its main- 
tenance; and the breath depends upon God for its maintenance. 
All living things result from and depend upon God for life. All 
life whether in God or in His creatures is the same. It is not a 
substance. It is an energizing principle of which God is the 
fountain and all God's creatures are His handiwork infused with 
life through the breath. 

All the breath or air that proceeds from the Fountain of Life 
is absolutely pure. All the air that is impure has been made 



96 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



so by satanic influences defiling and poisoning the pure air, in 
order that men may be hindered in serving God. Satan is the 
prince and the power of the air, by Divine permission. To 
breathe impure air is to promote impure blood, impure senses, 
impure thoughts, impure motives, which weaken men and cause 
them to trangress law. Satan always attacks the senses of men 
when influencing them to sin. The wrong use of any one of the 
senses may defile the man so that he will sin against God, and ul- 
timately get sick and die. Man is the author of his own death 
through a yielding to temptation. All death is the result of the 
wrong uses of the senses, touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing 
and reason (i Cor. 10:31), (Eph. 5:1-18), (2 Cor. 7:1), (Jas. 
1:19-25), (Eph. 4:29). 

It is undoubtedly true that the abuse of taste and smell is the 
causes of most deaths. The abuse of these senses weakens the 
vital organs very quickly, so that they can not perform their 
work and the result is death. Therefore it is very important 
that we watch and pray lest we enter into temptation and allow 
our senses to become defiled so that our will powers are weakened 
and we are not strong enough to live. If we willfully listen to 
impure speech, eat impure foods, breathe impure air, touch im- 
pure things, etc., our minds become defiled and we will think 
impure thoughts which are sure to produce impure and unholy 
actions, habits, and characters (Phil. 4:8). 

All men may acquire the ability to resist evil if they will 
surrender their wills to God through Christ (1 John 3:8) and 
trust Him (1 Cor. 10:13), (Rom. 8:7-8). 

In growing corn most people know that different kinds of corn 
must be planted at great distances from each other lest the pollen 
of the one kind be blown by the wind and mixed with that of the 
other variety. For instance, if you should plant pop-corn too 
close to sweet corn, more likely than not, both varieties would be 
spoiled, or at any rate one would be contaminated with the char- 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 97 



acter of the other. Either the pop-corn would partake some- 
what of the character of the sweet corn and lose its popping quali- 
ties or else the sweet corn would partake somewhat of the char- 
acter of the pop-corn and become tough and unpalatable. Just 
so it is in the Christian life. Some one has well said, "Show me 
who your associates are and I'll tell you what your character is." 
We are "known by the company we keep." The Apostle says: 
"Evil communications corrupt good manners," and we are told to 
have no part with unbelievers at the peril of our lives. Just as 
the two varieties of corn can be mixed and defiled if planted close 
together without some way to keep the character of each separ- 
ate, so it is with the Christian who associates with the world and 
is friendly with it. He will surely be contaminated with sin unless 
he keeps Christ — the Way — between him and the world to keep 
off the character of the worldly (Rom. 6:11-13), (1 Tim. 5:22), 
(Jas. 4:4). 

Certainly our lives are governed for good or evil by the at- 
mosphere in which we live, by our associates, our habits and our 
circumstances. But behind all these things there is an influence 
that causes us to perform. This influence is carried on by mes- 
sengers, by evil spirits or good spirits. These spirits are either 
demons of Satan or they are angels of God. The evil spirits are 
messengers of oppression and the good spirits are ministering 
spirits or messengers of mercy. Our fight for life is against 
these demons who oppress us on every hand (Eph. 6:12). Their 
purpose is to put some weakness upon us so that the BREATH 
of the spirit of life will leave us. When the breath, the vital 
principle that infuses man with life, leaves the man, he becomes 
unconscious (his conscience is dead) he dies, "he returneth to 
his earth in that very day his thoughts perish." 

We must make a difference between the breath of the spirit of 
life (which shall return to God who gave it (Ecol. 12:7) of both 
the man and the beast and all living creatures of earth, and the 



98 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



spirit of man which at death of the man is "cut off out of the 
land of the living," and which dies with the soul and the body. 

The Scriptures are very plain on this subject. It is by that 
thing which in the Bible is known as the spirit of man — "our 
spirit" — "my spirit" (Rom. 8:16), "our conscience" (Rom. 9:1), 
(Acts 24:16) — by which we know by intuition whether a thing 
is right or wrong. It is by our spirit that the Holy Spirit of God 
bears witness to us that our sins are forgiven and we are become 
the children of God. It is by our spirit that we influence those 
about us for good or for ill. When we see a man put all his 
energy, his life, into his work, and sacrifice even food and sleep 
to accomplish an end, it is by his individual spirit that he does 
it. It is this spirit, this influence, this motive power that dies 
with the soul and the body, and is "cut off out of the land of the 
living." 

There is also a difference between the spirit of the man and the 
Spirit of God. The Psalmist makes this plain when he says: 
"Create in me a clean heart, O God ; and renew a RIGHT SPIRIT 
within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not 
thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy Salva- 
tion; and uphold me with THY FREE SPIRIT. Then will I 
teach transgressors thy ways ; and sinners shall be converted 
unto thee" (Ps. 51:10-13). 

It is by our spirit that we pray, to make our requests known 
to God (1 Cor. 14:14-16) ; and it is by our spirit that we worship 
God (John 4:23). When we suffer unrest, a guilty conscience, 
and fear, our spirit is troubled within us (2 Cor. 2:13). It is 
by the spirit of man — that power that we have to will to do or. 
not to do — by which men have sealed their testimony with their 
blood and sacrificed life itself to live out the courage of their 
own convictions. It is the Spirit of God through the breath 
of life and the senses that gives the energy and strength to tho 
spirit of man and gives him the wisdom which is from above, 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 99 



which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, 
full of mercy and good fruits, without prejudice, and without 
hypocrisy. It is the spirit of the Evil-one that takes away 
energy and strength from the spirit of man and gives him that 
which is the wisdom of the world, which is first impure, then 
quarrelsome, violent, hard to be entreated, without mercy and 
good fruits, full of prejudice and hypocrisy. 

The breath of man is to the motive powers or spirit of man 
what oxygen is to fire. The organs of the body and the blood 
and acids of the body may go on to perform their daily functions 
while the imaginations, thoughts and intents, and voluntary 
actions of the body lie dormant or dead, the man being uncon- 
scious or asleep. Therefore we say that when man is asleep, 
his spirit (so far as the will powers of man are concerned) is 
dead, but his soul and body are alive. Too long unconsciousness 
produces death of the soul and body as well, and the whole man 
begins to return to dust because the breath of the spirit of life 
will have left the man and there is nothing to sustain life. Hence 
without the breath there can be neither spirit nor senses. It 
was the spirit of Lazarus that heard Jesus' voice call ; but God 
had first answered Jesus' prayer (John 11:41-43) and sent back 
into the body the breath of the spirit of life, which revived the 
spirit of Lazarus, giving energy to the senses so that he ^ould 
hear Jesus call him. 

When the breath of life (Hebrew — neshamah chaiyah) 
(ruach) leaves the body to return to God who gave it, the man, 
body, soul and spirit — the whole person — dies, and the man 
returns to dust. It is the breath of life (not life itself) that 
leaves the man first at death. Life itself dies as soon as "the 
breath of the spirit of life" — the vital principle in the air which 
generates life — the breath of life — leaves the man. This is what 
leaves every living man, whether good or wicked, at death; and 
it was that which left the body of Lazarus and the daughter of 



100 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



Jairus when they died; and came again (Luke 8:55) before they 
were raised from death, in answer to the prayers of Christ. 

The animal life or soul of man is dependent upon God through 
nature, through the spirit of man which operates upon the soul. 
The body of flesh is dependent upon the soul, and they are all 
dependent upon each other in promoting life ; for without the 
one the other could not live. Therefore without all the parts 
incorporated in organized life there can be no vitality present 
in the person. In fact there could be no person unless all 
three parts were incorporated; there could be neither a dead 
person nor a living person in that event. 

The breath of the spirit of life has no intelligent action or 
consciousness of itself. It was united with the body by God as 
a means through which God gives energy to the natural life; 
and it cannot maintain any activities after the body has become 
disorganized and begun to decay in death and to return to dust. 

"The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and 
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (neshamah chaiyim), 
and man became a living soul (nephesh chaiyah)." 

The phrase (nephesh chaiyah) translated in this passage, 
"living soul," designates nothing peculiar to man, for it is equally 
applicable to the brute. This expression is employed ten times 
in Genesis, and twice in Leviticus, and in every instance but this 
it is used with reference to the brute animals. Observe closely, 
God does not bring a living soul and put it into Adam's lifeless 
body ; but Adam becomes a living soul by the impartation of the 
breath of life. Animals become living souls by the same process. 
The breath of life is the inspiration of some Divine virtue fitted 
for the exercise of life and reason, and is infused into the 
organic body; in short, it is not life itself, but the breath of the 
spirit of life, that which produces or promotes life, that which is 
withdrawn at death. At death the man becomes "a dead soul," 
an expression that is used several times in the Scriptures to 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 101 



denote one from whom the vital breath has been withdrawn; 
when the heart ceases to beat, the circulation of the blood is 
stopped and all sensitive and voluntary action is at an end. To 
this the Scriptures agree. 

"Thou sendest forth thy spirit (ruach — breath) ; they are 
created ; Thou takest away their breath (ruach) ; they die and 
return to dust." (Ps. 104:29-30). 

"His breath (ruach) goeth forth; he returneth to the earth; 
in that very day his thoughts perish" (Ps. 146:4). "The spirit 
(ruach) shall return unto God who gave it." (Eccl. 12:7). 

"For that which befalleth the sons of men, befalleth beasts; 
even one thing befalleth them ; as the one dieth, so dieth the 
other; yea, they all have one breath (ruach); so that (in this 
respect) man hath no preeminence above a beast." (Eccl. 3:19). 

God breathed the breath of life into material things only. Life 
is not material. 

There are good and evil influences from without that are 
brought to operate upon the natural life of man, and these tend 
to vitalize or devitalize the human spirit, the soul and the body. 
Therefore, that man may be acquainted with these facts, God 
has mentioned in His Word three kinds of life. 

1st. Greek — Psuche Animal Life The Natural. 

2nd. Greek — Klakos Evil Life The Praeternatural. 

3rd. Greek — Zoe Holy Life The Supernatural. 

Life is immaterial ; it has no attributes, and can exist only in 
some material organism. The (Psuche) or transitory animal 
life receives its energy from God through nature, through the 
spirit of man. The (Kakos) or evil life proceeds from Satan 
and operates upon the natural life through the five senses, 
through evil suggestions, through the spirit of man, upon the 
will of man (if man yields to the evil suggestions) causing 



102 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



devitalization, degeneration, the putting on of weaknesses, sin, 
sickness, and finally death. The (Zoe) or holy Life proceeds 
from the Father, only through Christ (1 John 5:10-12), and 
operates upon the animal or natural life of man through the 
five senses through righteous and pure suggestions, through the 
spirit of man, to regenerate, and to revitalize ; and if man 
yields, weaknesses, sin, and sickness, and the power of death are 
destroyed, and man receives "more abundant" (Zoe) Life (Phil. 
2:13) (John 10:10). The (Kakos) or evil life takes away the 
vitality man was given by God through nature or through grace, 
(Rom. 7:14-23), while the (Zoe) or holy Life adds to the 
vitality man already has by nature. It is this (Zoe) LIFE, 
which is literally dropped into us by God Himself as soon as 
we, without reserve or condition, surrender our self nature to 
Him through Christ; and this life at once begins to bear the 
fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 
goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. 

The (Kakos) life produces the works of the flesh mentioned 
in (Gal. 5 :19-21) ; but if we live after the law of the Spirit of 
(Zoe) Life in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8.T-8), we shall be free, from 
the law of sin and death and have no condemnation (2 Cor. 
2:9-17). 

Holiness is the root of Everlasting (Zoe) Life. Holiness is 
the root of immortality. Without the root immortality is want- 
ing. Without immortality (deathlessness) none can live forever. 
Where there is immortality there must be infallibility. None but 
Jehovah and Christ are infallible. 

Just as the natural life is sustained by material foods, so this 
higher Life, the (Zoe) Life, which can be had only through 
Christ, must have its spiritual food in order to be maintained 
and developed into perfection, into Everlasting (Zoe) Life; and 
it is only those of whom Jesus spoke that get this higher Life, 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 103 



this supernatural Life, when He said: "MY SHEEP hear my 
voice . . . they follow me: and I give unto THEM Eternal 
Life (John 10:27-28). 

It is written: "Evil shall slay the wicked," but "the righteous 
shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be 
stronger and stronger." 

Paul says, "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, 
evil (Kakos) is present with me. For I delight in the law 
of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my 
members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing 
me into captivity to the law r of sin, which is in my members. O 
wretched man that I am ! AVho shall deliver me from the body 
of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord" (Rom. 
7:21-25). 

The Scriptures say: "He that will love (Zoe) Life and see 
good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips 
that they speak no guile, let him eschew evil and do good, let 
him seek peace and pursue it" (1 Peter 3:10-15). 

"If thou wilt enter Into (Zoe) Life, keep the commandments" 
(Matt. 19:17). 

"He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall 
have the light of (Zoe) Life" (John 8:12). 

"I (Jesus) am the Bread of (Zoe) Life" (John 6:35). 

"He that believeth not the Son shall not see (Zoe) Life" 
(John 3:36). 

"Believing ye might have (Zoe) Life through His name" 
(John 20:31). 

"I am come that they might have (Zoe) Life" (John 10:10). 
"The gift of God is Eternal (Zoe) Life through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord" (Rom. 6:23). 

"Your (Zoe) Life is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3 :3). 

This (Zoe) Life is XOT common to animals because it is 
only through Christ that the (Zoe) Life can be obtained (1 



104 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



John 5:10-12), (John 10:10). It is hid with Christ in God. 
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son 
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have 
Everlasting (Zoe) Life (John 3:16,6:53). 

Life in Christ was the first truth which Satan sought to 
obscure by introducing the false philosophy of the natural im- 
mortality of man, which he taught to Eve in the Garden of 
Eden. The real Gospel message is the proclamation of this 
(Zoe) Life — life after death — to mortal men — not to immortal 
men — and that, only through Jesus Christ who is its only 
Source. This (Zoe) Life is in its fullness only by a conception 
from above — a new birth, and a resurrection from the first 
death, through Christ, by a Divine, supernatural interposition. 
This is the "great salvation" (Heb. 2:1-3), that is offered to 
us, "for God so loved the world that He gave His only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish 
(in everlasting destruction) but have Everlasing Life" after 
the resurrection from the grave. 

Some will persist in putting the thought that those who hold 
the Doctrine of LIFE in Christ and death out of Christ, are 
advancing the theory that annihilation takes place immediately 
after the first death, and that this theory is the Doctrine of 
Annihilation; when the fact is, our doctrine is just the same 
as that of the Apostles who, "holding forth the word of THE 
LIFE" — Eternal Life through Jesus Christ — showed them- 
selves a pattern of good works : in doctrine, uncorruptness, 
gravity, sincerity, sound speech that could not be condemned. 
For this is the promise that He hath promised us, even Eternal 
(Zoe) Life (1 Jno. 2:25). We hold that in Him was (Zoe) 
Life; and THE (Zoe) LIFE was the light of men. The gift 
of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ. 

Man consists of three parts, spirit, soul and body. Neither 
one of these parts of man can be a living entity independent 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 105 



of the other two parts. When man dies, all three parts die. 
When Jesus died His Spirit, soul and body were cut off out of 
the land of the living, and "He made His grave with the 
wicked and the rich in His death." But some of us have been 
guilty of saying that only two-thirds of Jesus died and that 
His spirit escaped to go to preach to the spirits in prison (i 
Peter 3:19). But the Scriptures plainly state that "He was 
cut off out of the land of the living" (Isa. 53:8-9), (Ps. 16:10), 
dsa. 53:10-13), that He died (1 Cor. 15:3-4). 

The spirits in prison are alive; they are evil spirits other- 
wise known as demons. Jesus did not go to them at death 
(2 Pet. 2:4), (Jude 6), for He w r as "cut off out of the land of 
the living." 

Jesus' spirit could not have gone to heaven above at the 
time of His Death because He said to Mary after His resur- 
rection, "I have not yet ascended to my Father" (John 20:17). 

In 1st Corinthians 15 we read these w r ords of the apostle: 
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I 
preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein 
ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory 
what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in 
vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also 
received, how that Christ died — (not how that Christ's body 
died, and His soul went to Paradise to sup with the thief, 
nor how His soul went to preach to the spirits in prison — but 
how that Christ died — ) — (not one-third of Christ, his 
body, the other two-thirds living on, — but how that Christ 
— three-thirds — died) for our sins according to the Scriptures ; 
and that He — the whole man — was buried, and that He 
arose again the third day, according to the Scriptures." 

In the light of the Word let us notice -some very particular 
and important points : 



106 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



i. Christ died. The whole man died. 

2. Christ was buried until the third day. 

3. Christ did not go to paradise while dead. 

4. Christ did not go to preach to wicked spirits while dead. 

5. Christ did not go to heaven while dead. 

6. Christ made his grave with the wicked and with the 

rich in His death (Isaiah 53:9). 

7. Christ did not leave the grave until the third day. 

Let us not assume that Jesus went to Paradise the first day of 
His Death to sup with the thief, and still contend that He 
went to preach to the spirits in prison. It is commonly 
assumed that Paradise is a place for the departed spirits oi 
the good, and that the prison is a place for the spirits of the 
departed wicked people. This assumption is encouraged by 
the theory that the spirits of dead men leave the body at 
death and those of the wicked are imprisoned in a purgatory. 
But the Bible speaks of no such place as purgatory. It 
has been taught by the Church that those who are imprisoned 
in purgatory may be released by the prayers of a priest on 
the payment of certain sums of money. But the Bible does 
not sanction such teaching. Christ only conquered death. 
Men are the authors of their own destinies, and once dead, 
'none but Christ can have any effect upon them, and that not 
until the time appointed when they shall be resurrected, after 
He comes. It is such assumptions as the above that have made 
men careless about sin, fully believing that for certain in- 
dulgences their sins can be forgiven through the intercession 
of man, and by certain penances and the payment of certain 
sums of money they can be redeemed from purgatory or from 
a hell of torment even though they be overtaken with death 
before they have had a chance to make confession. But the 
Bible, which should be our daily rule of faith and practice 



Both of the Just and the Unjust . 107 



teaches no such doctrine. If men would read the Bible and 
do their own thinking instead of having others do their think- 
ing for them they would learn these things for themselves. 
Christ could not possibly have gone to Paradise or to the 
prison in His death and still remain dead in the grave at the 
same time. Paradise and the prison cannot possibly be the 
same place. Jesus' body died and he poured out His soul 
unto death, and He was cut off out of the land of the living — 
in short, He was dead; for the Scriptures very plainly de- 
clare that Jesus was not resurrected from the dead until the 
third day (i Cor. 15:4) and that it was after His resurrection, 
in His quickened flesh, "by which He went and preached unto 
the spirits in prison ; which sometimes were disobedient when 
once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah" 
(1 Pet. 3 18-20). Let us understand that "the spirits in pris- 
on" are demons, fallen spirit-persons, fallen angels, not the 
spirits of men who aJre dead. 

One of the chief reasons why the preaching of the present 
day is a failure, is because men have refused to preach the 
Gospel which Paul preached. And Paul warned men that if 
they preach any other gospel, they would be cursed (Gal. 
1 17-11). Men have been preaching in such a way that Chris- 
tians have become very selfish in their Christian lives in 
wanting to live right so as to escape a possible place of 
everlasting torment, when the real motive should have been 
an unselfish one. Salvation from sin, sanctification, and the 
baptism in the Holy Spirit have been themes that have been 
preached very zealously, and men, women and children in 
thousands have accepted these truths and made them a part 
of their lives. But there has been a tendency to want these 
graces in order to qualify so as to be able to obtain blessings 
in answer to prayer mostly for self, and in order to be found 
worthy of escaping a (so-called) place of everlasting torment 



108 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



in a lake of literal burning fire and brimstone. The doc- 
trines of the 12th, 13th, and 14th chapters of 1st Corinthians 
have been preached with the notion that when these doc- 
trines are taught, the full gospel has been taught. But there 
is a doctrine that eclipses all other doctrines in that it is 
the cardinal doctrine of the Bible around which all the other 
doctrines swing and men of God have failed to declare the 
whole counsel of God in neglecting to preach salvation from 
death, salvation from the penalty of sin — death, for all people who 
will obey, through Jesus Christ our Lord, by a resurrection 
of the dead both of the just and the unjust. 

This is the deepest doctrine of the Bible and the most neg- 
lected one; and it is set forth by the apostle Paul in the most 
neglected chapter of the Bible — the 15th Chapter of 1st Cor- 
inthians. And Paul emphatically declares that the reason 
why men's preaching is in vain, is because men have failed to 
preach this very doctrine (verses 12 to 18). And he goes on 
to argue that "If in this (supernatural — Zoe) life, — the Ever- 
lasting Life — only we (who are now Christians) have hope in 
Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (ver. 19). He 
further declares that, "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ 
shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order." He 
has also reminded the Church in general that it is written 
in the Word, "To whom He (Christ) was not spoken of, 
they shall see; and they that have not heard shall under- 
stand" (Rom. 15:21). Peter declared that "the Lord is not 
slack in His promise, as some men count slackness ; but is 
longsufTering to us-ward not willing that any should perish, 
but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). So we 
find that the great burden of Paul's message, and also of the 
message of all the early Disciples of Christ is in the words 
of Paul himself, namely : "This, I confess unto thee that after 
the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 109 



fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and 
the prophets : and have hope toward God, which they them- 
selves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the 
dead both of the just and the unjust" (Acts 24:14-16). Paul 
goes on to ask this question, "Why should it be thought a 
thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" 
(Acts 26:6-8). 

It is not salvation from sin only that should be preached, 
but salvation from DEATH, — the wages of sin. Therefore, it 
was, that when Christ was born in the manger, the angel of 
the Lord spoke to the shepherds, saying, "Behold, I bringj 
you glad-tidings of great joy which shall be to ALL people" 
(Luke 2:10). So now all people will have a part in the resur- 
rection of the dead, every man in his own order, both the just 
man and the unjust man (John 5:25-29). And it was by this 
declaration of the angel of the Lord, God's promise of glad- 
tidings to all people, that glad-tidings was preached also to 
them that are dead (1 Pet. 4:6) that they might be judged 
according to men in the flesh — (not at the time of death, but 
after they are resurrected from the dead and are become men 
again in the flesh) ; for judgment does not take place at death 
but after the resurrection (Jude 14, 15). Men are judged 
while they have their senses in living bodies, not while they 
are insensible and are dead. And as it was in the days of 
Paul, and true to his declaration, any man who dares to 
preach salvation from death, through a resurrection of the 
dead to life again, will be called a heretic. 

It was not the dead, fleshly Jesus that preached to the spirits 
in prison, but it was the resurrected, the risen quickened 
Christ, the glorified, changed, spirit man Christ Jesus who 
preached to the spirits in prison. He could not preach while 
His body lay in the grave (1 Pet. 3:19-20) for there is no 
work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave ; 



110 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

and in the very day of death the thoughts and love are per- 
ished (Eccl. 9:5-10), (Ps. 146:4), (Ps. 1 15-17). Hence, JesuH 
could not do that which the law of God says is impossible 
to do without a material organism in which life must dwell, 
and through which life must produce and perform all action. 

The spirits to whom Jesus preached were at one time pure 
angels of heaven who, yielding to Satan's temptation, be- 
came corrupted and impure and fell from the favor of God 
and are now called demons. They were once dependent on 
God as was Satan their leader, but something passed over 
Satan and he caught the fever of independence and began to 
make himself his own pivot, and so he began to be in hell. He 
began to assert himself to the exclusion of God, so he fell 
and all his demons who leaned on him fell also. They are 
the fallen sons of God who could materialize and impersonate 
human men before the flood and of whom it is mentioned in 
the Bible that "they took wives of all which they chose," 
among the daughters of man, and brought forth a race of 
wicked giants, men of renown (Gen. 6:1-5), (Jude 6). 

Jesus really died, for He was raised on the third day from 
the dead. If the body and soul only die, then man cannot be 
said to be wholly dead, since only two-thirds of the man 
died. If only two-thirds of the man dies, which part of the 
man whould the reader call by the man's proper name ; the 
part that was buried in the cemetery or the part that escaped 
death and went to heaven above ? 

The Scriptures plainly state of man in common with the 
beast : 

"His breath (of life), (ruach) goeth forth; he returneth to 
his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish" (Ps. 146:4). 

"Like sheep they are laid in the grave ; death shall feed on 
them. . . . Man that is in honor, is like the beasts that 
perish" (Ps. 49:12-20). 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 111 



"That which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; 
even one thing befalleth them ; as the one dieth, so dieth the 
other; yea they all have one breath (Hebrew — ruach. 
breath of life) ; so that man hath no pre-eminence above a 
beast; all go unto one place — (the soul, and flesh body of man 
and beast alike) — all are of the dust and turn to dust again" 
(Eccl. 3 :ig-2i). 

They are said to be in hell (Heb.— sheol . . . hell, the grave, 
oblivion) whether they are buried in the sea, in a cannibal's 
stomach, in a lion's stomach, in a cemetery, in the open street, 
on a mountain top, or if cremated. 

The second death in "gehenna" is the same as the first 
death in "hades" except that there is a resurrection (John 
5 128-29) f° r a ^ wno die the first death ; but there is no resur- 
rection for those who die the second death, since there can be 
no more sacrifice for sin (Hebrew .10:26). The second death 
is symbolically called "the lake which burnetii with fire and 
brimstone" (Rev. 21:8), (Rev. 20:14); a symbol of entire 
or complete obliteration, disorganization, destruction. No 
one can take part in the second death until the Bride of 
Christ is complete and the second advent of Christ has 
taken place, and until judgment is given (1 Cor. 6:2-3), 
(Jude 14-15), during the reign of Christ as King. Therefore, 
there must be a resurrection from the first death. Judgment 
can be realized only by those who have living senses and in- 
telligence. 

In the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of 
the unjust, the whole man — spirit, soul and body — will be 
resurrected out from the death, oblivious, lifeless state. The 
spirit of man, has not in itself the power to raise itself, the 
soul, and the body from death : for it will be dead itself just 
like the spirit of Jesus who was cut off out of the land of 
the living. It was the Spirit of the Father that was in Jesus 



112 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

that raised Him from the dead (Rom. 8:11). And it will be 
the Spirit of the Father that will raise us. 

In the resuscitation or resurrection of the dead both of the 
just and the unjust, it will be the energy of the Spirit of 
God that will raise the spirit, soul and body of man from the 
dead; and although the body of flesh after death goes into 
corruption and returns to dust, there will be a bringing to- 
gether again of the scattered bones of the dead, ''and sinews 
will be laid upon them, and flesh also covered with skin, 
and breath shall be put in them and they shall live" (Ezek. 
37th chapter). And although among these dead there be 
those who formerly had been Christians possessed of the 
(Zoe) Life, at death the (Zoe) Life was taken away from them 
so that they, spirit, soul and body, could die at their appointed 
time (1 Cor. 15:35-38), (Heb. 9:27). The Scriptures say: 
"What is your (Zoe) Life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth 
for a little time, and then vanisheth away" (Jas. 4:14-15). It 
is imparted character ; it is the Christ-life from God the Father. 
We are all counted asleep in death, but are really dead in 
death, and our (Zoe) Life is hid with Christ in God. 

Let us look at the forest and notice the limbs divested of 
all their foliage which was their glory. They are asleep. 
The sap (their life) that came in the spring-time and brought 
forth the leaves and fruit has gone down into the tap-root 
and is hidden in the ground. But Avhen the spring-time comes 
again the tree is vivified, revived, the sap returns as be- 
fore and the leaves and fruit come again. So with the (Zoe) 
Life. We, as Christians, have it within us, but "it is as a vapor 
(just for a time in this age, this life) "that appeareth for a, 
little time, and then vanisheth away," because "it is appoint- 
unto men once to die," and "it is hid with Christ in God." 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 113 

"All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower 
of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth 
away'' (i Pet. 1 124) . 

The (Zoe) Life is the principle of righteousness and Ever- 
lasting Life, while the (Kakos) life is the principle of sin that, 
causes sickness and death, dissolution, obliteration, utter de- 
struction, everlasting death (Jas. 1:15). 

This (Zoe) Life is the witness that is within us which testi- 
fies to our spirits that we are the children of God. As it is 
written : 

"If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is 
greater: for this is the witness of God which He hath testi- 
fied to His Son. He that believeth on (liveth by) the Son of 
God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God 
hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record 
that God gave of His Son. And this is the record that God 
hath given to us Eternal (Zoe) Life, and this (Zoe) Life is 
in His Son. He that hath the Son hath the (Zoe) Life; and 
he that hath not the Son of God hath not the (Zoe) Life" 
(1 John 5:9-15). 

We must lay hold on eternal (Zoe) Life by fighting the 
good fight (Greek — agon . . . public conflict), (1 Tim. 
6:12), of faith (1 Cor. 15:58). To this end we labor and en- 
dure persecutions and suffer reproach, and are able by faith 
to live the creed of the Apostles — the creed of Paul who said, 
"I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto 
God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet 
not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live^ 
in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved 
me, and gave Himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace 
of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is 
dead in vain'/ (Gal. 2:19-21). 

Rev. J. H. Pettingel, says, "The Church of Christ by en- 



114 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



couraging natural men to expect an immortal life, that is 
assured only to children of God, have obscured the main dis- 
tinction between the regenerate and the unregenerate, have 
turned the sacrificial death of Christ into an unmeaning trag- 
edy, and robbed the Gospel of the chief element of its excellence 
and power. The doctrine of immortality, not by nature, but by 
a supernatural birth from above, is an offence to the natural 
man, who prides himself upon the nobility of his nature. . . . 

"When the Church of Christ returns to the faith from which 
she has been seduced, and holds forth again the simple truth, 
as it is in Jesus, there will be no difficulty in making men see 
and feel their perishing condition, and believing it, as they now 
do not, they will cry out, as under the preaching of Paul and 
Silas: "What must we do to be saved?" The sanctuaries 
will again be crowded to hear "the words of this LIFE." The 
early missionary spirit will again revive, and Christians, at 
home and abroad, will labor with a zeal and faithfullness to 
save their perishing fellowmen," which can only be inspired 
and kept alive by a hearty belief, that they are actually going 
down to death and unless they be rescued and saved before 
they die, they must perish utterly and forever." Brother 
Pettingel did not see the doctrine of the resurrection but he 
saw death in its true relations to man. 

It was not until after the Holy Spirit was poured out with 
power upon the Apostles and early Disciples of our Lord, 
that their minds were fully open to receive this truth. But 
when they did receive, and "knew the power of His Resur- 
rection," they were lifted completely out of their former con- 
dition, and filled with a zeal and energy which nothing could 
withstand. This new life, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the 
"unspeakable gift," Everlasting (Zoe) Life through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord (Rom. 6:23), made them burn to make 
known to their fellowmen the unsearchable riches of the 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 115 



love of God. It was this new and supernatural Life that the 
angel told the Apostles to go and proclaim after he had re- 
leased them from the prison, and said, "Go stand and speak in 
the temple to the people all the words of THIS (Zoe) Life. 
It was this new life, the (Zoe) Life, that was given to all who 
repented and were baptized on the day of Pentecost and it is 
this (Zoe) Life which is the "promise unto you, and to your 
children, and to all that are afar off" (Acts. 2:39). 



116 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE. 

THE NATURAL MAN. 

It may be said with a great deal of truth in connection with 
the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and the 
true plan of salvation found in the Scriptures, that the audi- 
ence attending such preaching may be properly divided into 
two great classes, viz. : Those who receive the Word with glad- 
ness and singleness of heart, having a measure of that wis- 
dom which is from above, being gentle, easy to be entreated, 
without prejudice, without hypocricy; and those who get 
angry with hearing the Word of Truth, being, as the Master 
said, among those who close their eyes lest they should see, 
stop their ears lest they should hear, and harden their hearts 
lest they should understand and should be converted, and be 
healed (Matt. 13:15). And so from the actual experiences of 
the Saviour and all His Apostles and the Disciples after Him. 
their preaching of the real truth was always met by either the 
one extreme — a joyful acceptance of the words spoken, or by 
the other extreme — a real harsh, repulsive, angry hatred for 
that which was preached and for him who did the preaching. 
N'o where in history is it recorded of a Imixed audience* 
who has attended a preaching service where real Bible truth 
was proclaimed, that the people as a whole body looked upon 
the preached Word with indifference. The Word of God 
is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, 
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of 
the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and 
intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12). The Holy Spirit always con- 
victs of sin at such a service, and men must either accept the 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 117 

teaching, or fight it: "For as the rain cometh down, and the 
snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the 
earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give 
seed to the sower, and bread to the eater ; so shall my word 
be that goeth out of my mouth ; it shall not return unto me 
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall 
prosper whereto I send it" (Isa. 55:10-11). Preaching the 
Word will bring about a conviction of sin and make some 
angry because they hate to be found out. Men do not now 
go to the Word of God with an absolutely open heart and 
mind, and their study is not to show themselves "approved 
unto God, rightly dividing the Word of Truth," but it is to 
show themselves approved unto men, "handling the Word of 
God deceitfully'' or setting it aside altogether. 

Human nature blended with evil propensities can act only 
one of two ways under the preaching of the truth. It is 
never indifferent. Men are afraid of being converted lest 
they must give up their wickedness (John 3:19-21) ; and they 
hold in higher esteem, as a rule, the pleasures and sins of their 
depraved Adamic nature than they do the Christ who sacri- 
ficed Himself to obtain for them the power to abstain from 
willful sin, and to be kept safe from the possibility of being 
sentenced to everlasting destruction. 

Let it be remembered that God holds us all responsible 
for the light that we have, and should we wilfully sin against 
true light God will hold it against us in that day when Christ 
shall judge all with righteous judgment and show no favorit- 
ism or respect of person (Luke 12:48), (2 Pet. 2: 20-21). 

It is a senseless thing to assume the narrow and selfish and 
unscriptural position, "Once in grace, always in grace," or 
to teach men that if they ever become Disciples of Christ and 
are baptized in water they shall never be lost. Neither will it 
do to teach men that if they call upon God at the last hour 



118 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



in this life they shall be saved forever and receive Everlast- 
ing Life. It will not do to wilfully reject, neglect, or put off 
the Christian life until after we have had our fill of the pleas- 
ures of this world or until old age, and then expect God to 
give us through His mercy a Christian character that others 
have attained only through long years of active Christian life. 
In this we would only weaken our position and our worthi- 
ness of such mercy. It takes a lifetime of faithful obedience 
to become a saint. It is better to have had no light at all 
and died in ignorance, but honest and morally good, than to be 
wilfully otherwise. Our senses are very much injured by sin 
and the chances to attain unto the Everlasting Life in the age 
to come is far better for those w T ho are ignorant than for those 
Avho are wilfully disobedient. There is no state of grace at- 
tainable in this life from which we cannot fall. 

It is only through the Sovereignty of God that wicked men of 
the deepest dye have become saints of God in a few short years. 
It is the operation of God's great love and mercy through the 
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ that takes a wicked man and 
transforms him into a saint. But even then what might that 
man have been if he had been converted in his youth? He 
probably would be a saint full of love and power and towering 
high above his fellow saints. Xo one can have any genuine 
respect for Jesus who will violate the common laws of cleanli- 
ness and decency, and who will defile the body with such 
things as Jesus and the Disciples preached against. Xo one can 
really love the Lord who will not do those things that are 
pleasing in His sight : for they who really love Him, keep His 
commandments and do His bidding according to the measure 
of true light that is in them (Matt. 22:37-40), (John 13:34-35)* 
(Jas. 1 :2i-25). • 

To sin against light, truth and common sense is to be in 
a state of constant condemnation. To do the truth is to come 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 119 

to the light, that our deeds may be made manifest that they 
are wrought in God (John 3:19-21). To preach the truth is 
to meet persecution, to have all manner of evil spoken against 
us falsely, to be cast out as evil by those who are too indiffer- 
ent to search the Scriptures to see whether the things preached 
are so (Luke 6:22-23). To preach the truths of the Bible is 
to be bold in the face of evil men and seducers who 
wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived ; 
who have pet ideas and theories of their own in- 
vention; who say they can prove everything by 
the Bible, and that "the Bible is like an old fiddle upon 
which any old tune can be played." To preach the truth is 
to preach the Gospel that Jesus and the Apostles preached, 
not taking any one passage of Scripture out of its proper 
setting to accommodate a theory. To preach anything else 
than that which Paul preached is to preach a gospel which 
lacks in justice, righteousness, and divine love, and about 
which Paul warned: "Though we or an angel from heaven 
preach any other Gospel unto you than that we have preached 
unto you, let him be accursed" (Gal. 1 -.9:12). 

The preaching of the true Gospel of the Kingdom of God 
never pleases all unbelievers. Its preaching either persuades 
men to turn unto righteousness, or it makes them angry and 
ready to fight. Paul prophesied (2 Tim. 4:2-4) that the time 
would come when men would endure not sound doctrine ; but 
after their own lusts would they gather to themselves teachers 
to tickle their ears and they shall turn away their ears from the 
truth, and shall be turned unto fables. Therefore, instead cf 
seeing the Church composed of those who are really disciples 
of Christ, students of the Word, followers of the Lamb, all 
as one body and not divided, seeking "TO KNOW CHRIST, 
AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION, AND 
THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS, being made 



120 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



conformable unto His death," we are confronted by the fact that 
church-goers, as a rule, are not Disciples of Christ at all, 
but are merely proselytes of certain numerous creeds, all an- 
tagonistic to each other, whose individual devotees seldom 
study the Bible, but instead, pay some one to do their think- 
ing for them (Matt. 23:15), (John 10:12-13). They may be, 
classed as Christians, but they are still of the natural mind. 

"The natural man receiveth not. the things of the Spirit of 
God for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he know 
them, because they are spiritually discerned." The natural man 
is a carnal man, selfish, seeking to please the flesh. Someone 
has well said: 

"The natural man is a Christian, a babe in Christ. We might 
think that the carnal man is unregenerate, but it is not so, 
He is regenerated; he is in Christ, and Christ is in him; but 
instead of Christ being predominant, the carnal element is 
predominant. I believe that there are hundreds of people who 
are in Christ ; but they are babes in Christ. Christ is in them, 
but He is overcrowded by the superiority of their self-life. 

"Now the carnal life is a babe life. I have met men who 
use the same expressions years after conversion that they did 
when they were cradled on Calvary ; and if you are still liv- 
ing in the elementary stage of experience, feeling and prayer, 
and do not grow, do not know God better, do not know the Bible 
better, do not know yourself better, do not know Christ better, 
you are a little babe, you are carnal. 

"And then the carnal man lives on milk. Paul said: l \ 
have fed you with milk, and not with meat; for hitherto ye 
were not able to bear it, neither yet are ye now able.' Milk} 
is food which has passed through the digestion of another. 
The babe cannot take meat, so the mother takes meat and 
breaks it down, and the child takes milk. So many Christians 
cannot read the Bible, cannot get any good out of the Bible, 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 121 



it must be broken down by the minister, and they are fed with 
a spoon ! 

"Ministers are nurses. They have to spend their time wheel- 
ing the converts about, comforting them, putting them to 
sleep, waking them up and feeding them, and if they are not fed 
with a spoon three or four times a week, there is no know- 
ing what will happen. And if you are in that state then you must 
take spiritual truth through the digestion of another; you are 
a babe. 

"A carnal Christian is also sectarian; T am of Paul, I am of 
Apollos, and I am of Cephas.' Oh, how much we make the 
fold, and how little the flock ! How much we think of the 
hurdles, and how little of the sheep ! Half the time we are 
worrying about the sect to which we belong." 

There are many whose Christian zeal is directed toward win- 
ning members for the particular sect to which they belong, 
with little else in view than the social idea of quantity at the 
expense of quality ; still they are morally pure, of course, but 
centered in self instead of being centered in Christ and the 
rescue of the perishing. 

These proselytes are followers of the creeds, the theories 
of men who love not the pathway of the just (Prov. 4:18) 
who, in most cases, would stoop beneath the life of faith (Gal. 
3 ;n) for mercenary ends, who know not how to study to show 
themselves approved unto God, Laborers that need not to 
be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2;15) 
and who are ever learning and never able to come to the 
knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 3:5-7). 

The true Disciple of Christ is a learner ; he searches the 
Scriptures to prove all things ; he is open to conviction of 
the truth ; he will accept the teachings of all men, if they are 
not contrary to the written, revealed plan of salvation which 
is the Gospel which Paul preached. The Holy Spirit cannot 



122 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



teach men through their spirits, things that are contrary to 
or inconsistent with the written Word of God (Isa. 8:20). If 
one say, "God told me to say or do thus" and it be contrary 
to the Word, that one is in error: for God never taught con- 
trary to the written Word. Spirit messages contrary to the 
Word are not from God at all. 

Let us search the Scriptures together to see what the real 
Gospel is which Paul preached, through which God per- 
suaded many to believe; which Gospel Paul preached, that he 
might be a true servant of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the 
words of faith and o r sound doctrines. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 123 



CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO. 

THE TRUE GOSPEL. 

The word "Gospel" comes from a Greek word (evangalion) 
which means "a good spell" — "glad tidings." We get our word 
"gospel" from a corruption of "good" and "spell" through the 
British who, in their short-cut wa(y of speaking, ran together 
quickly the two words, until we have the word "goo'spel" or 
"gospel." The meaning of this word is very simple. Should 
anyone speak of a sick spell, we would at once conclude that 
a period, or time, or spell of sickness was meant. "Gospel" 
or "good-spell" signifies a season of good. The good-spell 
which Christ preached is called the Gospel of the Kingdom 
of God (Mark 1:14), or rather it might have been called the 
good-spell, good-news, glad tidings of the Kingdom of God. 
In other words Christ preached about a time to come when a 
kingdom would be established, known as the Kingdom of God ; 
the laws of which kingdom, would demand an age of glad 
tidings for the citizens and subjects of that Kingdom. That 
Kingdom shall have no end. Take your concordance and look 
up all the references pertaining to the Kingdom of God and 
study about it. 

In preaching about the Kingdom of God, about the laws 
that are to prevail in that Kingdom, the preaching was re- 
ceived with much joy and gladness by all who heard and be- 
lieved Jesus (Mark 12:37-40) and we dare say that those who 
believeth His words longed very much for the time to come 
when the good-spell would prevail ; and if the same kind of 
preaching were indulged in today, the same kind of joy and 
gladness would be manifested among the common people. 



124 The Hope ond Resurrection of the Dead 



The very fact that people do not have that old time joy and 
singleness of heart today, but, instead, have a prejudiced 
spirit concerning that which is the truth, separating them- 
selves into little factions to set up their own standards and 
private interpretations of the Scriptures, is good evidence 
that the logical, consistent truth is not being preached to- 
day, as a rule, or that men are not open to the truth. 

The Kingdom of God of which Christ preached, began to be 
set up as soon as Jesus was baptized in Jordan ; and this is 
why Jesus cried, "The Kingdom of God is at hand, repent 
ye, and believe the Gospel.'' In fact, the Kingdom was really 
set up primarily in the Garden of Eden with Adam as king, 
but it fell from the rule of man through disobedience and sin, 
Adam having forfeited the first dominion through failing to 
care for the Garden and its inhabitants (Gen. 1:26-28), (Ps. 
8:4-9). Jesus, the second Adam, was sent to again set up the 
Kingdom and to arrange matters so that man can again bq 
so good that God will give him back the dominion over the 
creatures of the earth, and the love that was lost by Adam's 
fall. After these matters have been sufficiently arranged, then 
Christ will introduce a better, a perfect, social arrangement 
after the second advent, during the Millennium. He taught us 
to expect, watch for and pray for the Kingdom of God to 
come saying, ''Pray ye, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on 
earth as it is done in heaven." Jesus began to set up the King- 
dom at His first advent, but He will establish the Kingdom 
after His second advent in fulfillment of the promise of God to 
Abraham. Take your concordance and look up the references 
pertaining to the word "promise" and note how almost every 
reference has something to say concerning God's promise to 
Abraham and the Kingdom of God. 

Daniel prophesied about this Kingdom (Dan. 2 144) say- 
ing, "The God of heaven shall set up a Kingdom which shall 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 125 



never be destroyed and shall break in pieces and consume all 
other kingdoms and it shall stand forever." This is the King- 
dom to which the preaching of the Gospels refers when we 
read (Rev. 11:15) "The Kingdoms of this world are become 
the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall 
reign forever and forever." 

But we are told that the day of Christ "shall not come ex- 
cept there be a falling-away first, and the man of sin be 
revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth 
himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; 
so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, showing him- 
self that he is God; and then shall that wicked one be revealed 
whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth 
and shall destroy with the brightness of His presence" (2 
Thes. 2:3-12). We are told that in the last days (the days in 
which we now live), perilous times shall come: for men shall 
be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blas- 
phemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, with- 
out natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incon- 
tinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, 
highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, hav- 
ing a form of godliness but denying the power thereof, and 
that men will be ever learning and never able to come to the 
knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 3:1-3). We are also told that 
we shall hear of wars and rumors of wars ; that nation shall 
rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom ; and there 
shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers 
places ; that many shall be offended, and shall betray one 
another, and shall hate one another; that many false prophets 
shall arise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall 
abound, the love of many shall wax cold (Matt. 24:14). We 
are told that all who live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer 
persecution ; that the evil men and seducers shall wax worse 



126 1 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



and worse (2 Tim. 2:12-13); that" the time will come when 
men will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts 
shall they heap to themselves teachers to tickle their ears; 
and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall 
be turned unto fables (2 Tim. 4:1-4). 

Daniel gave a clean description of these times in which we 
now live and spoke of it as the time of the end. He did not 
signify the end of the world but the end of the dispensation. 
He tells that in the time of the end many shall run to and fro 
and knowledge shall be increased, and the wise shall under- 
stand, but none of the wicked shall understand ; and that there 
shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was 
a nation. 

These are the signs we now live in. We are, therefore, in 
''the time of the end," when the reign of Christ is about to be- 
gin on the earth. The age to come was especially preached 
about by all the Apostles as the a day of Christ," "day of 
judgment," and as the resurrection day, and this was the 
earnest faith of the early Church (Phil. 1:6), (2 Tim. 4:1). 
Peter refers to it as "the time of the restitution of all. things" 
which God hath spoken of by the mouth of all the holy 
prophets (Acts 3:19-21) when all debts must be paid. 

According to the Scriptures this second advent of Christ 
means the blessing of all the families of the earth. But pre- 
ceding this time of blessing there shall be a time of trouble, 
persecution, wars, famines, pestilences and unrest that shall 
usher in the Kingdom of God. Men are longing to see the 
time of blessing come. 

When we speak of the kingdom of Great Britain, we know 
at once that a form of government is referred to, over which 
there is a ruler or king. A kingdom is composed of territory, 
a capital, a king, rulers, judges, lawmakers, laws, citizens, 
subjects, law breakers, prisons, penalties, etc. It was the hope 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 127 



of becoming a ruler, judge or citizen of this Kingdom of God, 
where glad tidings will dominate and prevail, that caused the 
hearers of the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God 
to be so happy, and joyful, and eager to live the Christ Life — - 
the (Zoe) Life. Those who expect to be in the Kingdom of 
God are not living to eat and drink ; nor is the Kingdom a 
place where the object of life will be to gratify the appetites 
of the flesh ; but it is to be a Kingdom with a government of 
righteous, peaceful, joyful principles, where life can be lived 
throughout the ages in a spirit of peace and holiness and di- 
vine love one for the other ; "for he w r ho in this serves the 
Anointed One is well pleasing to God and approved of men'' 
"Rom. 14:17-18. Those who really expect to inherit the King- 
dom are seeking to live such a life as will cause men to give 
praise, glory and honor to Jesus. 

The Kingdom of God has been at hand in the embryotic or 
seed state ever since it was first proclaimed by Jesus and the 
Apostles. Jesus is the seed of the Kingdom in embryo (Gal. 
3:16); which seed, like the mustard seed being the least of 
them all, is to sprout and send forth roots and branches and to 
develop to such an extent that the principles and government 
of it will fill the whole earth. Jesus taught the principles of 
this Kingdom in order that His hearers could see the Kingdom 
with the spiritual eye (John 3 13) and, finally, enter into the 
Kingdom (John 3 15) upon having fully met the conditions 
and attained unto perfection. He planted the seed — the 
(Zoe) Life — in the hearts and lives of men, and, being the 
seed Himself, began at once to set up the Kingdom of God 
in the seed state. 



128 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE. 

The ministry of the Spirit, the ministry of healing, preaching 
the Word and prayer for others go hand in hand. 

You will notice that when Jesus began to preach the Gospel 
of the Kingdom of God, that in connection with His preach- 
ing, He taught ; and He healed all manner of sickness and dis- 
eases among the people (Matt. 4:23). When He sent the 
Apostles to preach, their instructions were to preach the Gos- 
pel of the Kingdom of God, and to heal the sick (Luke 9:2-6;. 
When Jesus called on a certain man to follow Him, He said : 
"Go thou and preach the Kingdom of God" (Luke 9 :60). When 
the Seventy were sent two by two, they were directed to preach 
the Kingdom of God, and to heal the sick, etc. (Luke 10:9). 
In the commission to those called to preach for Christ, given 
to the Church at the close of the forty days after His resurrec- 
tion, Jesus said, "Go ye, and teach all the nations 
whatsoever I have commanded you'' (Matt. 28:19-20). "Go 
ye, and preach the gospel" (Mark 16:15). What Gospel 
could He have referred to? It was the same Gospel they had 
been taught to proclaim before the crucifixion (Matt. 10:7), 
(Luke 16:16), (Mark 4:11), which was always accompanied 
by the healing of the sick, cleansing lepers, casting out dem- 
ons, etc., for the Word says: "They went forth and preached 
everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the 
Word with signs following" (Mark 16:20). Wherever the 
Gospel of the Kingdom of God is preached and lived today by 
its exponents — preached as the early Disciples used to preach 
it — the signs do follow (Luke 18:29-30). 

The Kingdom of God cannot be established in a tangible, 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 129 

literal way now, because it must be established at the time ap- 
pointed, after the second advent of Christ, by Christ Himself. 
Since the Kingdom of God is greater than the Church — and 
Christ established the Church — none other than Christ can 
establish the Kingdom. No man or body of men can claim the 
right to establish that Kingdom. None can assume the right to 
lord it over the people of the earth in ecclesiastical matters. The 
Kingdom of God must remain in the seed state until the 
proper time for its establishment. The principle of that gov- 
ernmental system being planted in the lives of all those who 
are willing to do the will of God (John 7:17), (2 Cor. 8:11-12). 

Christ taught of the good-tidings of the Kingdom of God 
to come; which good-tidings can be enjoyed now only by those 
who will do the Father's will daily (Luke 9:23) in their in- 
dividual lives, independent of existing governmental systems 
and laws. Jesus taught His Disciples to pray "Thy Kingdom 
come" (Matt. 6:10), and we still pray for it to come. 

The Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom should come 
(Luke 17:20), and the answer given was, "The Kingdom of 
God is (Greek — entes) among you." In this expression, He 
had reference both to Himself as the seed of the Kingdom, 
and to those in whose lives the seed, or the desire to live the 
(Zoe) Life, had been sown. No one would suppose that the 
principles of the Kingdom of God, which are righteousness, 
peace, and joy (Rom. 14:17) could have been "within" the 
wicked Pharisees whom Christ addressed on this occasion, be- 
cause they were His opposers and avowed enemies. 

Jesus taught the Disciples to seek the Kingdom of God and 
the righteousness of God; and they did seek until the day of 
Pentecost, when they received written in their hearts the in- 
tense desire to live the (Zoe) Life — the life of Christ — the 
Everlasting Life in the seed state — the laws and principles of 
the Kingdom of God; which laws were also written in their 



130 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

hearts (Matt. 6:33). God had, as it were, dropped into them 
the righteousness of Himself for which they had sought earn- 
estly in prayer (Acts, 2nd Chapter). Then they began to live 
the supernatural life of Christ, the (Zoe) Life. 

The Disciples did not know that Christ was to be crucified 
until they were told it, just a few hours before the time; so 
it is a positive fact that they did not preach "J esus Christ 
and Him crucified" (Luke 18:34), (Luke 16:16). If we ex- 
amine Luke 24:13-27, we will find proof of this fact. They 
thought that Jesus had come to establish the Kingdom of God 
in their day, to restore Israel, and to be their king ; but He ex- 
plained to them that before the Kingdom of God shall be re- 
stored, established, He must first die, be resurrected, and by 
the Spirit of God gather out of the nations a little flock and get 
them prepared in character to rule and reign as joint-rulers 
with Himself, and to help Him establish the Kingdom. 

We also read that after the day of Pentecost, the Disciples 
preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, calling on men 
to repent and believe the Gospel. Philip, the evangelist, 
preached the "things concerning the Kingdom of God and the 
name of Jesus, and the people with one accord gave heed to 
those things that Philip spake, hearing and seeing the mir- 
acles which he did : for unclean spirits, crying with a loud 
voice, came out of many that were possessed : and many taken 
with palsies, and that were lame were healed. And there was 
great joy in that city" (Acts 8:5-12). We also read that Paul 
''went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of 
three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning 
the Kingdom of God"; and then he moved to a schoolhouse 
where he preached two whole years and wrought special mir- 
acles, so that from his body were brought unto the sick, hand- 
kerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases were cast out (Acts 
19:8-12). 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 131 



The earthly Church primarily is a place of refuge for the 
afflicted of God's people, where prayer for deliverance may 
be offered by the congregation in times of distress, sorrow or 
sickness. Not only the soul and the spirit of the man are 
afflicted by Satan, but the body, too, is oppressed, bruised or 
wounded by him. Why should it be thought incredible with 
you that God should heal the body that is sick as well as the 
soul? Or why should a man trust the Lord for the healing 
of his soul or spirit and hand his sick body over to a doctor 
and trust him to do with it as he may choose? 

Our only safe refuge from the afflictions of Satan is an appeal 
to the Almighty Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord, 
through the direct prayer of faith. If God is really Almighty, 
He is certainly big enough and wise enough and willing 
enough to mend or repair the sick or crippled man whom He 
has made and whom Satan has oppressed (Jas. 5:14-16), (Ps. 
103:2-3), (Zech. 13:1), (John 15:7), (1 John 5:14-15). 

The most senseless thing for a man to do when sick is to 
seek the help of a physician and human remedies. All sick- 
ness and injury comes directly from Satan through his agent, 
and none but a stronger than Satan can heal. All healing 
comes from God either through nature (in spite of medicine) 
or through grace. Nothing can be claimed for medicine ex- 
cept that it has relieving properties. Medicine as a cure for 
ills is a very doubtful thing to everyone. The Scriptures have 
no words of commendation for the dispenser of remedies for 
human ills ; in fact, the Bible classes such as a wizard, sor- 
cerer, conjurer or magician. Although man will say he trusts 
God to heal the body through medicine as a means, he is sadly 
misled to trust in man ; for medicine and God cannot work to- 
gether and faith cannot be divided between God and medicine, 
and man cannot serve two masters at the same time ; neither 
could God be Almighty if He required the aid of man in heal- 



132 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



ing one of His own creation. And although the man makes 
this claim of his trust in God when he recovers from sickness 
after having taken medicine, he invariably gives the doctor 
or the medicine the glory and honor for his healing and God 
receives no credit whatever. Jesus Christ is the same Healer that 
He was 1900 years ago and we are taught that Christ should 
be "all and in all." (Ex. 15:26), (Heb. 13:8). 

When a man is sick there is always a great deal of doubt as 
to which school of medicine application should be made for a 
physician. There are a number of schools all antagonstic to the 
others and all claiming the other is of no account — the allopath 
with its poisonous liquids, the homeopath with its poisonous 
pills, the hydropath, the electropath, the osteopath, mind-heal- 
ing, ( so-called ) Christial Science, spiritualism and many other 
paths which lead man away from the STRAIT AND NARROW 
PATH and which claim wonderful healings, if the man has the 
proper amount of money to pay for treatment. But none of 
these schools can heal an insane man, a malformated child, one 
born deaf, dumb, or blind. None can cure cancer, consumption, 
paralysis, or leprosy in its last stages. 

It is very seldom that two physicians will diagnose a single 
case of sickness and arrive at the same conclusions, should 
the disease have no visible symptoms, and the patient be un- 
able to tell where the pain is located; hence every decade 
brings a new system of procedure in the cure of diseases by 
the medicine man. In short, the (so-called) science of medi- 
cine is not based on facts or accurate knowledge, for its 
physicians at best are just what they claim for themselves 
"practicing physicians" ; hence there can be no science in medi- 
cine since there is absolutely no certainty of the efficacy of 
medicine in any case and since there is no accurate knowledge. 
Many physicians are baffled unless the patient can tell where 
the pain or ache is located. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 133 



But when the sick seek the Lord for healing, they have a 
remedy through prayer to God by Jesus, the Mediator, that 
never fails to bring healing when the conditions are met in, 
accordance with the Scriptures (i John 5:14-15), (John 15-7). 
There is about as much good sense for a sick man to seek 
the aid of a physician to mend his body as there is for a man 
to seek the aid of a blacksmith to mend his watch, or the aid 
of a dressmaker to mend a broken door. To seek the aid of a 
physician to heal a sick body, or to seek the aid of a remedy 
of any kind is only the natural way of going about it. But 
it is not becoming a Christian to do so. Just as the (Zoe) Life 
is the supernatural life to live, so healing by God through 
prayer is the supernatural way to get well. Jesus came to 
destroy the works of the devil (Luke 4:18), (1 John 3:8), and 
in doing so He destroyed sickness. Therefore, sickness is from 
the devil (Aicts 10:38). It is remarkably true that as soon as 
sickness was invented by Satan, he also invented means 
by which the sick could get relief from the intense suffering 
h^ put upon them. He without doubt has invented the 
remedies in order that men may put their trust in them in- 
stead of in God. 

There are several ways of obtaining healing from God through 
prayer, viz.: the direct prayer of faith (John 15:7), (1 John 
3:21-22), (Matt. 7 '.7), (1 John 5:14) when any two agree 
and are in perfect harmony with each other (Matt. 18:19); 
when two or three are gathered together in the name of 
Jesus (Matt. 18:20); when annointed with oil by the elder 
of the Church (Jas. 5:14-15); when any called disciple of 
the faith lays on hands in prayer (Mark 16:18) ; when hand- 
kerchiefs that have been blessed through prayer are laid on 
the sick in prayer (Acts 19:12) ; or through the united prayers 
of a believing congregation. But prayer may not be answered 
because of a wavering faith or trust in God (Jas. 1 :5 :8) ; be- 



134 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

cause of a lack of repentance for sin and a forsaking of the 
evil way (Jas. 1 117-25) ; because we fail to confess our faults 
and to pray and work for the welfare of others (Jas. 5:16) ; 
because we will not lay aside the filthiness of the flesh and 
of the spirit (2 Cor. 7:1) ; or because the one who prays does 
not pray in his spirit and really believe the prayer will be 
answered (Matt. 21 122) ; or perhaps he prays by machinery 
as the heathen do. We cannot reach God through prayer by a 
prayer wheel or by a rosary. The prayer must be from the 
spirit, to God the Father through the Name. 

Mark this : Christians may obtain answers to prayer not only 
for the healing of the body, but for "whatsoever ye will, in 
accordance with the Father's will (1 John 3:21-22, 5:14-15) and 
in the Name" Our power in using the Name depends on the 
measure of our spiritual life-union. The use of the Name 
rests on the unity of life. The union that empowers to the use 
of the Name is the union of love. When the bride becomes united 
to the bridegroom she gives up her own name, to be called by 
his, and has then the full right to use it. She purchases in his 
name. The bridegroom has chosen her for himself, counting on 
her to care for his interests. This makes them one. The 
Heavenly Bridegroom and the Bride can be no less. If we as 
Christians are members of the Bride-class, then we can use the 
Name, we can ask and receive in that Name what we will, if we 
will as the Father wills. What our prayer avails depends upon 
what we are and what our life is. It is living in the Name of 
Christ that is the secret of praying in the Name of Christ ; living 
in the Spirit that fits for praying in the Spirit. "Verily, verily, 
I say unto you, WHATSOEVER ye shall ask the Father in my 
Name, He will give it you." It is abiding in Christ that gives 
the right and power to ask what we will (John 15 :7-16). 

It is the Spirit dwelling within us that prays, not in words 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 135 

and thoughts always, but in a breathing and a being deeper than 
utterance. We are to live before God not as children, but 
child-like in faith. Not according to what I try to be when pray- 
ing, but what I am when not praying, is my prayer dealt with 
by God. God rules the world by the prayers of His saints. 
Every prayer-meeting should be a coming together in the Name, 
the faith in the Presence and the expectation of the answer. 
There can be only so much faith as there is of the Living Word 
dwelling in the life. 

When the (Zoe) Life of Christ comes into a man, he will 
begin to worship the Father in spirit and in truth and the 
affliction and diseases of the body begin to depart and he be- 
comes strong and healthy and a fountain of love that over- 
flows to all about him. The supernatural Life of Christ 
dwelling in men cannot be a selfish life any more than the 
Christ Himself could be selfish. The virtue that was in Him 
went out to others. He gave Himself. We must follow the 
plan that Jesus said we should live if we would keep His Life 
within. It is best told in His own words when He said: 

"Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your 
minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him 
be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be 
ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ran- 
som for many." 

James, the brother of our Lord, who became an Apostle 
about the year A. D. 60, delegated elders or old men in the 
Church to exercise the power of prayer in healing the sick 
(Jas. 5-I4-I5)- 

The preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God was 
such a joy to those who preached it, that they did not tire 
of it. Instead, they sacrificed their lives in order to spread 
the glad news. Paul persuaded men from morning till even- 
ing; and sometimes the Apostle preached far into the night, 



136 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



both laboring and suffering reproach and "standing in 
jeopardy every hour" that he might be in Christ and "know 
Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of 
His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if 
by any means he might attain unto the resurrection out from 
among the dead," and become a member of the Bride of Christ. 

The Scriptures everywhere declare, either directly or by 
implication, that the Gospel that Christ and the Disciples 
preached was thp Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and the 
preaching of this Gospel was always accompanied by the 
healing of Ihr sick and by other signs and miracles. And 
nowhere does it declare that a change of times requires, a 
change of preaching any other gospel; but that the Gospel 
which Christ preached is always in season, because the es- 
tablished Kingdom of God is yet in the future, and that its 
principles only are being set up in the lives of all people who 
will repent and believe the Gospel and who will seek the 
righteousness of God and put on the Gospel Armour (Eph. 
6:10-18). There is absolutely no power of God unto salva- 
tion, to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles, apart from) 
faith in Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, or in the preach- 
ing of any other gospel than the Gospel of the Kingdom of 
God (Rom. i :i6) ; for in no other gospel is the righteous- 
ness and love of God revealed from faith to faith. 

The Kingdom of God cannot be the Church, because flesh 
and blood can inherit the Church; but flesh (Greek — sarx) and 
blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (i Cor. 15 150) . There- 
fore, the Kingdom of God, literally, cannot be "within us ;" but 
the Kingdom of God spiritually can be, and is, "among us." 
Flesh and blood can inherit the Church, since the Church con- 
stitutes all those who have within them the principles of the 
Kingdom of God. There is but one Church; it cannot be 
joined. It is the Church of the First-born and men must be 



Both of the Just and the Unjust . 137 



born into that Church, having been begotten from above. 
But they can lose their membership in the true Church only by 
back-sliding. By this act they excommunicate themselves. 

Some have assumed that as soon as a person becomes con- 
verted to Christ that one enters into the Kingdom of God ; 
and that the entrance into the Kingdom comes before entrance 
into the ''Church of the first-born." This view is wholly un- 
scriptural. The Bible plainly teaches that the Church is taken 
out of the world and that those who enter into the Kingdom are 
taken out of the Church. The Scriptures plainly teach that 
those who would be members of the Church whose names 
are written in heaven must renounce and overcome the world, 
the flesh and the devil. 

We are told that those who are become Disciples of Christ 
should be baptized in water (Matt. 28:19) in answer to a 
good conscience toward God (1 Pet. 3:20-21). By this act 
of baptism, if it is entered into with the right spirit, the 
Disciple at once becomes a member of the Body, which is 
the Church, but as he is then only acquainted with the first 
principles of the oracles of God, he is but a babe in Christ 
(Heb. 5:12-14), a weak member, whom God must teach to 
become a strong member, as a father teaches a child, by 
permitting trials of faith to come into his life to refine and 
purify him, so that he will hate sin and uncleanness. Then, 
too, the new member must continue to search the Scriptures, 
which are now to be his daily rule of faith and practice, so 
that he may live and do with an eye single to God's glory, 
loving Him, with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, and 
his neighbor as himself, and grow in the wisdom and knowl- 
edge of God. 

When he has learned to trust God fully for the maintenance of 
spirit, soul and body, and has presented himself a living sacri- 
fice, holy, acceptable unto the Lord, not being conformed to 



138 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



this world, but transformed by the renewing of his mind 
(Rom. 12:1-2), having learned by practical experience that 
sin is exceedingly sinful (Rom. 7:13-25), then it is said that 
God pours out upon him the Holy Spirit; he is baptized in 
the Holy Spirit and fire, with the same baptism that Jesus 
was baptized with, the baptism for death ; and he becomes a 
witness (a martyr) for Christ, come what will, who is will- 
ing to lay down his life for his friends. The baptism in 
water is a type of the real baptism in the Holy Spirit. 

When Disciples of Christ become baptized in water they 
are made members of the true Church, members of the Body 
of the Christ of which the glorified Jesus is the Head. All 
the members are subject to the Head. None can work in- 
dependent of the Head. All the members are active mem- 
bers who keep in practice and ready for service as true soldiers 
of the Cross. But so soon as their activity ceases they be- 
gin to lose their membership. If a man's arm could re- 
fuse to keep in active service, that arm would be worse than 
useless. It would be offensive and in the way. Just so the 
lazy or inactive Christian is offensive. Christ's baptized 
Disciples are "members in particular" who work together in 
exact harmony. We are baptized into one Body by the Holy 
Spirit, and we are set in the Body as it pleases God according 
to our qualifications. And in order that we might continue 
to be members of the Body Ave must keep in constant service 
and in constant communion with the Holy Spirit. But there 
is another baptism. Members of the true Church should de- 
velop and Christ will baptize them in the Holy Spirit. By 
this baptism in the Spirit we are made heirs of the Kingdom, 
joint heirs with Christ and prospective .members of the Bride 
to be. God's seal of approval is then put upon us and we are 
given the first installment of our inheritance (Eph. 1:11-14), 
and we will then be willing to lay down our lives, sacrifice 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 139 



self, that we may win others for Christ just as the Apostles 
did (i Cor. 4:9-13), having become appointed to death in 
the service of Christ, "made a spectacle unto the world, and 
to angels, and to men." We are fools for Christ's sake, de- 
spised, willing to suffer hunger, thirst, nakedness, buffeting, 
and to have no certain dwelling-place, willing to work with 
our own hands. Being reviled, we bless ; being persecuted, 
we suffer it. It is necessary for one to be begotten from 
above, to be baptized in water, to be baptized in the Holy 
Spirit, to be an overcomer, if one would enter into the King- 
dom. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved," 
(shall have (Zoe) Life), (Mark 16:16). But even then there 
is a possibility of falling from grace and being utterly lost, 
unless the disciple grows, is a hearer of the Word and a 
doer of it also. An easy way to back-slide is to be a hearer 
of the Word and not a doer of it. A continuance of it will 
bring us everlasting destruction. 

Since the Kingdom of God has not yet been established, 
none can have entered into it. Only those who have been 
begotten of water and of the Spirit, can enter into the King- 
dom of God (John 3:5). None can enter into the Kingdom 
except through much tribulation (John 16:33), (Acts 14:22). 
None -can enter into the Kingdom until the First Resurrection 
has taken place, they having taken part in it and having re- 
ceived glorified bodies of the Divine nature. Flesh and blood 
cannot inherit the Kingdom. 

It has become very common and popular to suppose that 
the Kingdom is in the heavens above and there are those who 
declare that they know they are going to enter there, or that 
they are already in the Kingdom. But all this talk comes 
from ignorance of the Bible on the part of those who teach 
such spurious doctrine. There has been too much flippant 
assurance in the minds of people concerning these things and 



140 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



there is absolutely no certainty that any particular individual 
shall enter into the Kingdom (Matt. 20:23). God must 
judge these things. Even Paul could not claim that he had 
attained any of these things (1 Cor. 9:26-27), (Phil. 3:8-14). 
No man has a right to claim that he knows he shall enter 
there. No man has a right to claim that he will be among 
those who are of the Bride, or of the first resurrection. If 
we were to measure ourselves by the standard given in the 
Bible that must be reached before anyone can either inherit 
or enter into the Kingdom of God we would be more careful 
that the spirit of self-righteousness and boasting would not 
condemn us. Many a man has inherited and entered into a 
fortune ; but many, although made heirs to fortunes, have been 
disinherited because of some grievance. We may all be heirs 
of the Kingdom if we continue to love Him, but when we 
cease to love Him, we will lose our inheritance (Jas. 2:5). 
Now, let us notice what the Word of God, the Will of God, 
says about this thing (Ps. 15th Chapter). Let us read the 
conditions of the Will, viz. : 

"The whole law is set forth in this single precept: 'Thou 
shalt love thou neighbor as thyself.' But if you bite and de- 
vour each other, beware lest you be consumed by each other. 
Now I say, 'Walk by the Spirit, and fulfil not the desires of 
the flesh, for the flesh desires the contrary of the Spirit, and 
the spirit the contrary of the flesh ; for these are opposed 
to each other so that you do not perform the things which 
you wish. But if you be led by the spirit you are not under 
law.' 

"Now the works of the flesh are manifestly these : Fornica- 
tion, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, the art of healing with 
remedies, enmities, quarrels, jealousies, resentments, alterca- 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 141 

tions, factions, sects, envyings, inebrieties, revellings, and 
things similar to these ; respecting which I tell you before, 
even as I previously told you, 'That those who practice such 
things shall not inherit God's Kingdom''' (Gal. 5:2c)). 1 



1 Consult Young's Analytical Concordance and the Emphatic Diaglott for definitions 
of the terms used above. 

Note — When Jesus healed the sick He did not always require of them that they 
have faith before they could be healed. The rule seems to have been that all who 
came to Him personally for healing were required to have faith (Heb. 11:1); but it 
seems that those who were brought to Him for healing were cured on the strength of 
faith their attendants possessed. (Matt. 9th chap.) (John 9th chap.) Jesus healed 
the sick not only because He wished -to show His divine authority (John 5 :36) ; but 
also to fulfill prophecy (Matt. 8:17), because He had compassion (Matt. 14:14); because 
He wanted to do good (Matt. 12:12-13) (Acts 10:38); to prove the power of forgive- 
ness from sin (Matt. 9:6-7); to destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8); to show 
the works of God (John 9:3). All that Jesus healed were not converted saints of God; 
many were living lives of sin, and were brought to Him suffering pain, and with His 
big heart of compassion and pity pouring out toward God in sorrow for them, He 
alleviated their sufferings, whether they chose to follow Him or not. He sends out all 
His preachers as ministers of mercy and compassion, especially to the poor, with power 
to do as the disciples and apostles of His time did (Mark 16:15-20); and they that 
believe may but lay their hands upon the sick and the sick will recover. We find the 
same rules of faith are working today and many are healed through prayer who do 
not have faith for healing. All that is required of them is their consent to go and 
get healed. 



142 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR. 

THE CONVERTED. 

If mortal man be not conceived — begotten — from above, 
(Greek — gennethe anothen) he is not able to see (with the 
spiritual eye) the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). 

If mortal man be not conceived — begotten — OUT FROM 
water and Spirit (Greek — gennethe ex udatos kai pneumatos), 
he is not able to enter into the Kingdom of God (John 3:5). 

Jesus explains further: "That having been born OUT OF 
the flesh is flesh" (Greek — to gegennemenon ek tes sarkes, 
sarx esti ) ; and "that having been born OUT OF the Spirit 
is spirit" (Greek — to gegennemenon ek tes pneumatos, pneuma 
esti). Or, a more accurate rendering would read: "That 
which is begotten of the Spirit becomes a spirit." It might 
be explained that before one can become or be born a literal 
flesh person or a literal spirit person, that one must have been 
first begotten — conceived — OUT FROM either a father flesh 
person or a Father Spirit Person. A plant, a bird, an animal, 
a child, must first have been planted^ conceived, or begotten 
into certain elements and under certain conditions, accord- 
ing to its specific nature, in an egg or a seed state, and go 
on through certain processes of growth and development in 
an embryotic state before it can become a fully organized 
plant, bird, animal or child, and be born a fully developed 
organism, which organism, independent of its parent, con- 
tains in itself certain organs which perform certain functions 
conducive to life, and which, at the age of maturity, can itself 
become a parent, being able of itself to plant, conceive, or be- 
get another of its own kind. In the case of either animal 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 143 



or man the begetting would be dependent upon the will of 
the flesh. Only those who have been begotten from above, 
who have repented of sin and brought forth fruit unto re- 
pentance, and have within them the witness of God — the 
(Zoe) Life — and who do the will of the Father, can claim that 
they are converted. They can see the kingdom of God, but 
cannot vet enter into the Kingdom (Mark 10:24-31), (Matt. 

7:21). ' 

After one has renounced the hidden things of the world, the 
flesh and the devil, and has become a convert to the Gospel 
of the Kingdom of God, has repented and believed the Doc- 
trines of the Gospel, and wills to do the Will of the Father, 
that one is counted as being saved although in reality that 
one is only safe from sin and its power through faith in Christ, 
and is in a condition that would be well illustrated by a boy 
who had fallen into a river and was being drowned when 
rescued from death in the water, and towed to the bank and 
placed out of danger, safe from immediate death. Neverthe- 
less, unless the act of resuscitation takes place at once, death 
from strangulation will ensue anyway, and the last state of 
the boy would be as bad or even worse than the first. So it 
is with the new convert or disciple of Christ. He is reckoned 
saved, a saint, a son of God, an elect one, a redeemed one of 
the Lord. In an initial and spiritual sense he is all this by 
faith. But in an ultimate, full and dispensational sense he is 
not really saved yet; for he must work out his own salvation 
(Phil. 2:12) ; he must save himself from this untoward genera- 
tion (Acts 2 :4o) ; he must endure to the end before he can be 
saved (Matt. 10:22). He is called a saint (Rom. 1:7), but 
God must make a saint out of him by much chastening and 
training (1 Cor. 11:32), (Rev. 3:19), (Heb. 12:6-7), (Eph. 4: 
12). He is called a son of God (1 John 3 :i~3), but he is only an 
adopted son (Rom. 8:15) and God will not count him a real 



144 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



son until he takes advantage of that power which is given to 
all that receive Christ (John i :i2-i3) and has really become an 
heir of God, a joint-heir with Christ (Rom. 8:16-17). He is 
called an elect one (Col. 3:12), but he is not really an elect 
one until he "gives diligence to make his calling and election 
sure" (2 Pet. 1:10). He is called a redeemed one (Ps. 107:2), 
(Gal. 3:13-14), but he is not really redeemed; he is waiting for 
the redemption of our body (the collective body of the mys- 
tical Christ), waiting until the day of redemption (Luke 21 128), 
(Rom. 8:23), (Eph. 4:30), or until the Messiah has come to 
literally save us (Isa. 35:4), (Heb. 9:28) from the power of 
death. There is a salvation by faith, the initial salvation, in 
which some of us are walking today; but there is a salvation 
by hope which is ultimate. 

Jesus gave Himself — His (Psuche) — the natural life — the 
sentient person — a ransom for all. The ransom — the price 
of redemption — has been paid, but "our redemption draweth 
nigh"; and we will not be fully redeemed until the day of 
redemption. There is a sense in which being ransomed and 
being redeemed are two different and distinct acts. If a child 
be kidnapped for ransom, the ransom is the price paid for the 
release of the child and its return; but the child is not really 
redeemed until it has been returned, from whence it had been 
taken, to its rightful owner. We are all children of sin by 
nature through Adam, and must suffer the sentence of death ; 
but Christ purchased us from the power of interminable death, 
by shedding His blood for our redemption (Heb. 9:22-28). 
He purchased us with a price — the sacrifice of Himself — and 
now we are all His. Every man, woman and child, both 
good and evil, now rightfully belongs to Christ by divine 
right of purchase. But even though all are thus justified, 
everyone who has been purchased will not return to his right- 
ful Lord and Master, either because he may not be aware that 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 145 

he is justified freely by the grace of God and by Christ's blood, 
and that sin is not imputed to him, or because, having heard 
the gospel preached, he may wilfully choose to follow after the 
cares and selfish pleasures of the world rather than humbly 
repent of sin and live the Christian life of self-sacrifice and be 
redeemed in the day of redemption. 

We are constantly and unconsciously making mistakes and 
committing sin because of our inherited evil propensities, and 
the weaknesses of the flesh. And although we make these mis- 
takes unconsciously — a mistake is a sin. But it is not counted 
against us, because of inherited evil propensities. 

Notice particularly that our Lord died for our redemption. 
If the penalty against us for sin, if the wages of sin had been 
eternal torment, our redemption from it would have cost our 
Lord the price of suffering eternal torment, the just for the 
unjust. He would still be in torment; He would never have 
conquered death; He would never have been resurrected out 
from among the dead. 

Eternal torment was not the penalty for sin; hence our 
Lord did not pay that penalty for us. By one man (Adam) 
sin entered into the world, and DEATH by sin. Death was 
the penalty; therefore "Christ died for the ungodly," that 
they might be saved from death. He was obliged to suffer 
the penalty of DEATH to satisfy justice ; and so death has 
passed upon all men, even Christ. Since "He tasted DEATH 
for every man" and paid the penalty for sin, every man is 
assured that in Christ's service he must taste death and that 
Christ will redeem him from death by a resurrection from 
the dead. "Christ died for our sins according to the Scrip- 
tures." He paid the price of our redemption to divine Justice 
that we might all be resurrected. "If we believe that Jesus 
died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will 
God bring with Him." "Christ both died, and rose, and re- 



146 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



vived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living" 
(Rom. 14:9-11). 

"If by one man's offence death reigned by one, much more 
they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of 
righteousness shall reign in (Zoe) Life by one Jesus Christ. 
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all 
men to condemnation ; EVEN SO by the righteousness of one 
(Christ) the free gift — Everlasting (Zoe) Life — came upon 
all men unto justification of (Zoe) Life" (Rom. 5:18). 

Jesus came not only to make sinners safe from sin and it^ 
consequences, but also to do that which is of greater import- 
ance and for more infinite a purpose. He came that we might 
have supernatural (Zoe) Life. He came to make us safe 
from "the death" — the second death — (not the first death, 
for it is appointed unto all men once to die) — safe trom 
everlasting destruction, by sacrificing His natural (psuche) 
life, pouring it out unto death, that the law, which declared 
that "without the shedding of blood there can be no remission 
of sins," might be fulfilled. 

Observe closely that the cry of all who gladly heard the 
preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God was: "What 
shall I do to inherit the eternal (Zoe) Life?" They wanted 
the (Zoe) Life, the supernatural life_ of Christ dwelling in 
them, knowing that when that Life dwelt within, the oppres- 
sions of Satan must go and peace would reign in their bodies 
as well as in their souls and spirits. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 147 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE. 

THE CHURCH— THE BRIDE OF CHRIST. 

Only that which is begotten of the blood, of the will of the 
flesh, of the will of man, after a certain period of germination 
or gestation, can become a flesh person. Only they who have 
b6en begotten of the will of God (John i '.12-13) ; who are 
willing to do the will of the Father (Matt. 7:21), (John 7:17) ; 
who have repented and believe the Gospel of the Kingdom of 
God (Mark 1:15); have brought forth fruits meet for re- 
pentance (Luke 3:8); who are justified (Acts 13:39), (Rom. 
2:13), (Rom. 5:1); who have been baptized in water (Matt. 
28:19); and after a certain period of spiritual germination, 
taking root in Christ, and growing in grace (2 Pet. 3:17-18), 
have set themselves apart (sanctified) for service (Rom. 12:1- 
2) ; who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire (John 3 : 
5), (Acts 11 :16), and have received power from heaven for serv- 
ice and for witnessing for Christ — literally, as martyrs for 
Christ — (Acts 1 :8) ; who have been baptized into Christ's 
sufferings (Gal. 3:27), (Phil. 3:10), (1 Pet. 4:13); who have 
been given the wisdom which is from above, which is first 
pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of 
mercy and good fruits (John 15:2), (Matt. 3:10), (Matt. 7:17- 
19), (Gal. 5 -.22-26), (1 Cor. 13 :i-8), without prejudice and with- 
out hypocrisy (James 3:17) ; who have clothed themselves with 
the whole armour of God (Eph. 6:11-18) ; who have lived up 
to the measure of Roman, 12th and 13th chapters; have suffered 
persecution with Jesus (2 Tim. 2:12) ; and have run the race 
for the prize of the high calling of God (John 1:12), (Rom. 
8:13-17), (Phil. 3:13-14), (1 Cor. 9:24-27) by patient contin- 
uance in well doing (Rom. 2:7), having overcome the world, 



148 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



the flesh, and the Devil ; and, having endured to the end of 
this present life (Matt. 10:22), (2 Tim. 2:3), can say with Paul, 
"I am now ready to be offered, and the end of my departure 
is at hand. I have fought a good fight; I have finished my 
course ; I have kept the faith ; henceforth there is laid away 
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Right- 
eous Judge, shall give me at that day : and not to me only, but 
unto all them that love His appearing" (2 Tim. 4 :6-8) ; these 
only can take part in the first resurrection, be born spirit 
persons, be given immortality, incorruptibility (1 Cor. 15:50- 
54), be made incapable of making mistakes or of committing 
sin (not being subject to the temptations of Satan) and can 
enter into the Kingdom of God, to partafe of the Marriage 
Supper of the Lamb as the Bride of Christ (John 6:40-44). 

It is concerning those who will make up this company of 
glorified persons that James the Apostle referred to when he 
said : "Simon hath declared how God at the first did visit 'the 
Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name'' (Acts 
15:14-17). These people are the Bride of Christ, who are to 
become the Lamb's Wife, and who will be given a new name 
at the wedding (Rev. 3:12), when the marriage of the Lamb 
and the Bride takes place (Rev. 19:7-9). 

Our marriage system of today, taken as a whole, is a good 
illustration of how the Holy Spirit is preparing the Bride of 
Christ. Every sensible and healthful young man has within 
him a hope of some day having a bride. He first of all has 
an ideal — a conception or fancy as to what would constitute 
a good wife for him ; and he begins to look about for the 
object of his desire. When he sees the lady whom he believes 
has met the conditions of his fancy, he takes steps toward 
becoming acquainted. But he does not fall in love with her at 
once, because love is the natural consequence of a process, of 
a growing in the favor and wisdom and knowledge of each 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 149 



other. Love is the result of a growth. When the couple are 
acquainted and have mutually consented to become com- 
panions, they begin to bestow their little tokens of regard 
upon each other; they learn to know the likes and dislikes of 
each other and finally there is such a fascination that they 
are not truly happy except when in each other's company. 
They have reached the state of love in the plain sense of the 
word and from the human standpoint. But true love "suffereth 
long and is kind, envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed 
up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is 
not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity 
but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all 
things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, never faileth, 
. . . doeth no ill to his neighbor" . . . and makes a man "lay 
down his life for his friends." Love is temperate in all things. 

The law of love demands a loving disposition, loving 
thoughts, loving words, loving deeds and loving prayers in 
the interest of others. 

After the happy couple have learned to love each other, then 
there is a marriage, the bride drops her maiden name and from 
that time takes the name of her husband. 

Christ by the Holy Spirit is choosing his Bride and training 
her for Himself. But like Rebekah, whom the Holy Spirit 
chose for Isaac (Gen. 24th chap.), the Bride of Christ must 
leave father and mother and all earthly possessions behind 
and follow Him ; and although the Christian road will be rough 
traveling, like Rebekah's ride on the camel's back, there must 
be a willingness to sacrifice the self-life before the Bride can 
be qualified for the marriage to the Bridegroom ; when the 
Bride will take the name of her Husband — (Anointed-one 
. . . New Jerusalem) — which will be written in her fore- 
head (Rev. 22:4). 

It is the Bride of whom it is written, "many are called" 



150 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



(Greek — kletoi . . . invited, nominated, called-out) but "few 
are chosen" — (Greek — ekletoi . . . elected, chosen, picked out 
of the called-out ones) (Matt. 22:14). 

It will be this company of chosen ones, the elect ones (Rom. 
8:29-30), (Eph. 1 :5~i4) who have been refined by persecutions, 
tribulation (2 Tim. 3:12) and chastening, and given a trial in 
this age for Everlasting (Zoe) Life (Heb. 12:6-11), Rev. 
3:19), (Mai. 3:1-3), (Psalms 15 chap.) as the antitypical sons 
of Levi, who will, in this present age, in cooperation with the 
glorified Christ, make up the body who is symbolically called, 
"Elijah the Restorer" (Mai. 4:5), to be sent by God to begin 
restoring all things (Matt. 17:11) before the time of the second 
advent of Christ (Mai. 3:17), (Mai. 4:1-3), (Mai. 3:1). These 
are they of whom Christ spoke when He said, "Fear not, 
little flock: for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you 
the Kingdom" (Luke 12:32). These are made up and gathered 
out from among those that are not wise after the flesh, not 
noble, not mighty ; but God hath chosen the foolish things of 
the world, the weak things, the base things, things which are 
despised, the things which are not (1 Cor. 1:23-29), the poor 
of this world rich in the faith (Jas. 2:5), who are now reckoned 
the sons of God (Rom. 8:14), (1 John 3:1-3), heirs of God and 
joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8-17), Abraham's seed (Gal. 
3:29), the Church of the first-born (Heb. 12:23), the members 
of His Body, who will be glorified and be given immortality 
and then be caught away in the glorified, spirit state (literally, 
born of the spirit), to be with Christ in the Holy City, the 
New Jerusalem, the coming Capital of the world, which will 
be built on the site of the present Jerusalem, in Palestine, 
after the present Jerusalem has been destroyed; and from 
which Capital the Christ, Head and members who have taken 
part in the first resurrection and whose headquarters will be 
in the New Jerusalem at the second advent, will be sent forth 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 151 



with the Law of God — with the Everlasting Gospel to every 
creature upon the face of the earth (Micah 4:1-7) ; and they 
will become the Kings and Priests (Rev. 5:10) who will reign 
on this earth for ever and ever, judging the wicked and the 
angels under the leadership of Christ the Head, the King of 
Kings (1 Cor. 6:2-3), and who will preach the Everlasting 
Gospel (Acts 15:14-17) to the Jews, to those that dwell on all 
the earth, and to those who are now "asleep with their fathers" 
but who will come up out of their graves during the thousand- 
year-reign of the Christ, in the resurrection of both the "just 
and the unjust," "every man in his own order" (John 5:29), 
(Dan. 12:1-3), (1 Cor. 15:22), (Rev. 14:4-6). These will bless 
all the families of the earth according to the promise (Gen. 
13:14-17), (Rom. 11:26-33), also justify the heathen through 
faith (Gal. 3:6-8). Not until then can the Spirit and the Bride 
say, "Come . . . whosoever will, let him take of the Water of 
Life freely" (Rev. 22:17). Not until then will God pour out 
His Spirit upon all flesh. 

These joint-heirs and inheritors of the Kingdom are they 
who are baptized for the dead (1 Cor. 15 :29), baptized by Jesus 
in the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11) to preach the gospel of Ever- 
lasting Life — the Everlasting Gospel — to those who are resur- 
rected and who had died before they had a fair chance to come 
to a full knowledge of the whole truth. These then become, 
in the fullest sense, "the light of the world" (Matt. 5 :i3) and 
"the salt of the earth," a (holy) "city (Rev. 21:2-4) set on a 
hill"— (Matt. 13:43), (Matt. 19:27-28). 

We are told that the "whole creation is groaning and tra- 
vailing in pain together, waiting for the manifestation of these 
sons of God who will deliver the inhabitants of the earth from 
the bondage of corruption, sorrow, pain, woe, misery, tears 
and sighings. The Bride of Christ will be the sons of God for 
whom the whole creation is waiting (Rom. 8:18-25). 



152 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX. 

MANY MANSIONS. 

We read in (John 14:2-3), "In my Father's house are many 
mansions. . . . I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go 
and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive 
you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." If 
we are biased in favor of the doctrine of the natural immor- 
tality of the soul in spite of what the Bible teaches, we will 
strain the above words of the Saviour to accommodate our 
theory, our prejudiced ideas, and drift into speculations and 
doctrines of men bereft of the truth who wrest the Scriptures 
in order that they may keep their hearers in ignorance for the 
sake of personal prestige and gain. 

It might be exceedingly pleasant to the ear to listen to stories 
that set forth the beauties of the heavens above and it might 
be a convenient and a popular way to make adults and chil- 
dren, who do not study the Bible, believe that Jesus has gone 
up to heaven to build a town of many mansions up there for 
the righteous, just to make them feel happy; but all this is 
man-made theory and has no support whatever in the Scrip- 
tures. The fact is, we are continually hearing men testify that 
they can "read their title clear to a mansion in the skies," and 
yet, when the opportunity is given to them — according to their 
views (through death), and they get so desperately sick that 
there is a danger of their dying, they are, like every other 
human person, very reluctant to leave this good old earth 
and go away to a heaven above the skies to claim the mansions 
which they assume the Lord has built for them up there, and 
which, according to their theory, are beautiful beyond the 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 153 



comprehension of man. This is not of faith. It is wholly of 
theory. It is not righteousness ; it is selfishness. "But the 
righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not 
in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is to bring 
Christ down) or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, 
to bring Christ again from the dead). But what saith it? 
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, 
and shalt believe in thine heart (person) that God hath raised 
Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved'' (Rom. 10:6-9). 

It seems strange to the common infidel that in the assembly 
men claim to be happy because they are some day "going up 
to glory," but that as soon as they get sick they at once apply 
to a physician to keep them from going to the supposed palace 
of heavenly bliss, eternal rest and everlasting joy. The fact 
is, there is not one passage in the Bible to support the theory 
that God has promised man a home or a mansion beyond the 
skies ; but the Scriptures most emphatically and everywhere 
declare that "The meek shall inherit the earth." 

The desire to remain upon the earth and to live forever is so 
strong in men, even the most wicked of them, that the preach- 
ing of a supposed heaven of eternal bliss and rest beyond the 
skies is a very little inducement for even the Christian to 
consent to die that he might get there. All invariably want 
to stay on the earth and all want to continue to live, and all 
seek help either of man or of God that they might continue to 
live, when death stares them in the face. 

The "mansions" spoken of in the Bible are NOT dwelling 
places in heaven above where the saints are supposed by some 
to dwell after this life ; but they are the mansions or abiding 
places of the Holy Spirit, the tabernacles or temples of the 
Spirit. We, who are disciples, are the abiding places for the 
Spirit (i Cor. 3:16-17, 6:19-20). 

The "Father's house" constitutes the body of disciples who 



154 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



make up the "household of God" (Eph. 2:19); the original 
Greek Scriptures read: "In my Father's household are many 
abiding places," John 14:2. The Father and the Christ are to 
make their abode with us and the Holy Spirit is to be in us 
(John 14:17, 23). 

If particular attention is paid to the fourteenth and fifteenth 
chapters of John, one can readily see that the context of both 
chapters refers to our bodies as being the "abiding places" of 
the Holy Spirit. Just as soon as one has presented himself to 
God as a living sacrifice for service, a holy person in His sight 
(Rom. 12:1-2), and has crucified himself with Christ (Gal. 
2:20), and given the Holy Spirit full control of his spirit, soul 
and body, that one becomes a "mansion" or "abiding place" 
in the Father's household (John 14:16, 17, 21), and the Holy 
Spirit is pleased to dwell there. 

By turning to Hebrews 3 :6, we will see that "We are the 
Father's house (literally, household), if we hold fast the confi- 
dence and the rejoicing of the hope (hope of life after death) 
firm unto the end." We also read, "If a man love me, he will 
keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will 
come unto him, and make our abode with him" (John 14:23). 

You will notice that the Scriptures plainly state, "In my 
Father's house ARE (not, will be — but are) many mansions." 
These mansions already ARE ; they need no preparing. The 
mansions were then in existence in the persons of the Disciples 
of Christ. They needed cleansing so that Christ by the Holy 
Spirit could continually dwell in them (John 14:15-17). 

The place Christ has gone away to prepare for us is not, 
then, mansions in the skies, but it is a place of rank and honor 
such as we read about in the parable (Luke 19:12-27). In 
Jesus' time, every governor appointed or elected by the people 
of any certain province, to be a ruler of that province, was 
expected, by the king of the country of which that province 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 155 



was a part, to present himself before the king at the Capital, 
to receive his license of authority as the rightful ruler of that 
province or kingdom, getting his license and being installed 
into official rank by the king himself. So we read that Jesus 
went to the Father both to pray the Father to send another 
Comforter (John 14:16-17), (John 15:26), (John 16:7), and to 
get His commission, to prepare (Luke 22:29-30) "a place" for 
us in the established Kingdom of God upon this earth in the 
capacity of joint-heirs, judges and rulers, priests, and kings, 
with Him in the Kingdom, and to become our Mediator. And 
when He shall have come to establish His Kingdom on this 
earth in a literal sense, having received the commission, He 
will be the King whose right it shall be to reign (Luke 1 :32- 
33) on the throne of His Father David, which throne is on this 
earth ; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob ; and of His 
Kingdom there shall be no end. It will bear repeating to say, 
It is nowhere written in the Bible that the meek shall inherit 
mansions in the skies. But it is w r ritten that the "meek shall 
inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5). We often hear men teach that 
the good dead will go to a kingdom above the skies ; but Jesus 
taught us to pray for the Kingdom to come on earth ; and we 
are never taught to expect to go up to a kingdom. The doctrine 
is an assumed theory deduced from the heathen doctrine of 
transmigration of souls. 

Jesus is to come again (on earth) to receive us (John 14:3). 
He went away a resurrected, glorified person, and He will come 
again a glorified person. In His glorified state He cannot be 
visible to any but the glorified saints who have become like 
Him, having spirit organisms like the angels (1 John 3:2). 

Because of the fact that humanity is of a lower form of 
creation than glorified spirit persons, it is now, and always 
shall be, impossible for human eyes to see spirit persons, unless 
God, by a supernatural interposition, opens human eyes to see 



156 The Hope and Resurrection of Me Dead 

them. In the flesh, men can only discern that spirit persons 
are present by the supernatural events that occur. There is 
to be a purifying of the ecclesiastical, social, commercial and 
governmental systems that now exist, so that they shall all 
work together in harmony and bring about universal peace, 
love and contentment. Then will come to pass "the restitution 
of all things" (Acts 3:19-21), (Isaiah, nth and 12th chapters) 
spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets. The prophecy 
of Joel 2 128, will then be fulfilled ; for the seed of Abraham 
(Gen. 12:3, 18:18, 22:18, 26:4, 28:14), (Gal. 3:28-29); the 
mystical body of Christ (Rom. 12:5), (Eph. 4:12) ; elsewhere 
known in the Scriptures as Elijah the prophet (Mai. 4:5), 
(Matt. 17:11); the Bride of Christ (Jer. 331:10-16), (Rev. 
22:17); the Lamb's Wife (Rev. 21:9); the sealed servants 
(Rev. 7:3-4), (Eph. 1 :i3), (Eph. 4:30) ; the Priests and Kings 
(Rev. 1:6, 5:10, 20:6); the Prophet foretold by Moses (Acts 
3:22-25); the Messenger of the Covenant (Mai. 3:1), (Heb. 
8:10-12); the Angel having the Everlasting Gospel (Rev. 
14:6); the Elect (Matt. 24:24, 31); the" wise virgins (Matt. 
25:1-6) ; the members of the First Resurrection (Rev. 20:6) ; 
will begin to bless the families of the earth (Jer. 23:1-6), 
(Ezek. 34:1-31) by teaching the Everlasting Gospel to the 
Jews and to all nations that dwell upon all the earth at that 
time, to the children who died before they reached the age of 
accountability and have been resurrected, and to the heathen 
who never heard of Christ, and to all those, the poor, crippled, 
idiotic, blind, lunatic, who had died, but who shall then be 
resurrected, every one in his own order. (Acts 26:6-7), (J onn 
5:28-29), (Ezek. 37th Chapter). 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 157 



CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN. 

RBSTORATIOX OF THE JEWS. 

The above teaching is in exact accord with (Joel 2 :28) 
speaking of the time when God's judgments and the restora- 
tion of all things shall have begun and when the Great Tribu- 
lation of famine and pestilence shall have ceased to operate 
upon the inhabitants, saying: ''It shall come to pass AFTER- 
WARDS, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and 
your sons and daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall 
dream dreams ; your young men shall see visions." 

God is not now pouring, and never has, up to the present 
time, poured out His Spirit upon all flesh ; and He will not 
pour out His Spirit upon all flesh until the appointed time; 
until the time when the Bride and the Bridegroom shall have 
come to preach the Everlasting Gospel to the nations (Rev. 
5:10, 14:6-7, 20:6). When God pours out His Spirit upon all 
flesh, then every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess 
Him ; then no man shall have to say to his brother, "Know the 
Lord," for they shall all know Him from the least to the great- 
est (Heb. 8:11) ; then whosoever will may take of the Water 
of Life freely (Rev. 22:17). But this has not yet taken place 
because the Bride — (Jer. 33 :ii-i6), the people prepared for the 
Lord (Luke 1 '.17), those who are taken out of the Gentiles "as 
a people for His name" (Acts 15:14-17) is not yet complete; 
neither can it be complete until the times of the Gentiles be 
fulfilled, and the day of redemption is at hand (Luke 21 :24-28). 
To this agree the words of the prophets and the response of 
history; for Jerusalem is still trodden down by the Gentiles 
(Luke 21 :24) and the tabernacle of David which is fallen down 



158 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



has not yet been rebuilt "so that the residue of men might seek 
the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom His name is called" 
(Acts 15:16-17), (Amos 9:11-15). "And so all Israel shall be 
saved as it is written, There shall come out of Zion (the city 
of Jerusalem, the Capital of the Kingdom of God) the Deliverer 
(Christ and the Bride) and shall turn away ungodliness from 
Jacob." 

This promise is in harmony with the promise God made to 
Abraham. The prophets have foretold of the movements of 
the Jew and these prophecies have come true to the letter both 
as to the time and place mentioned. Men are watching the 
movements of the Jew. Their movements prove the authen- 
ticity of the Bible. They tell the near approach of the second 
advent of Christ. The Jews are God's chosen people. They 
are not heathen as some, who take the name of Christian, are 
loud to declare. True Christians do not persecute the Jews. 
They love them. There is but one way to judge those who are 
heathen. We must use the proofs given in the Bible. God has 
given us a way by which we can tell all those who are heathen. 
He has given us the first three of the Ten Commandments by 
which to measure them (Exodus 20:1-7). 

1. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 

2. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images, or 
any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in 
the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. Thou 
shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them, etc." 

3. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God 
in vain, etc." 

Only those who violate these commandments are heathen. 
Many who call themselves Christians, and who theoretically 
believe that Christ is the Son of God, take the name of God in 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 159 



vain, bow down to graven images of a dead Christ and of the 
Virgin Mary and the saints, and worship them instead of the 
true and living God, in violation of the express commands of 
God. The Jews as a dispersed people, no matter how isolated, 
still love these commandments of God in a practical way and 
they look for their Messiah to come to deliver them and save 
them. 

Let us remember that Christ was a Jew and that when we 
cast out the Jew we offend Christ their King ; for "salvation is 
of the Jews," said Jesus. Every great movement of the nations 
has been for the sake of the Jews — to bring them to Christ. 
Every nation that persecutes the Jews will be severely pun- 
ished in the "Judgment of the Nations." Jesus is the King of 
the Jews. The gospel of the Kingdom of God is the power 
of God unto salvation to the Jew first" (Rom. 1:16). But 
Christians put the Jew last and the Gentiles first. As disciples 
of Christ we should not neglect preaching to the Jew first. 
We are also told that God will give us the heathen for our 
inheritance. Let us win them to Christ by our love. Let us 
learn to prove to the Jews out of "the law and the prophets" 
that Jesus is indeed the Christ and they will accept Him. But 
they require that we must prove it to them. 

Since the Jews would not accept the Christ, the Bride is taken 
out of the Gentiles and the Gentiles obtain mercy through 
their unbelief. Now it is going to be through the mercy that 
the Christian Gentiles bestow upon the Jews that Israel shall 
all be saved, "For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, 
that He might have mercy upon all." This is the Promise thaf 
God made to Abraham and He will keep the promise. — (Rom. 
11:26-33), (Heb. 11:40). 



160 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT. 

SAXCTIFICATION. 

In order that God may fulfil His promise — His covenant to 
Abraham — God is taking out of the Gentiles, out of the Living 
Church, "a little flock," who respond to His call and choose 
to live the crucified life and to qualify for service not only in 
this life, but also in the life after the resurrection, as priests or 
kings. God is empowering them to be what they choose to 
be. And He tells them to "put off concerning the former con- 
versation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceit- 
ful lusts. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And 
that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in 
righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:22-24), "which is 
renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him" 
(Col. 3 :9~io) ; that you "may know Him, and the power of 
His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being 
made conformable unto His death." We are told to "put off" 
the old man and to "put on" the new man. 

Let us get an accurate description of these two men. Eph. 
4:25-31 and Col. 3:4-9 makes a distinction between the old 
man and his deeds; therefore we must conclude that the old 
man himself is the disposition to commit such deeds as are 
here described. It is the character and sinful tendencies in- 
herited from our parents developed by indulgence in sinful 
practices. Col. 3:12-17 fully describes the new man which 
is to be "put on." Eph. 4 '.24-32 describes the deeds of the new 
man. The new man is the new disposition, the new character 
implanted in a true believer "CREATED in righteousness and, 
true holiness." "If any man be in Christ Jesus he is a new 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 161 

CREATION." — 2 Cor. 5:17. "For we are His workmanship, 
CREATED in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Eph. 2 :10) . No- 
tice, also, that the new man is CREATED "after God," in the 
likeness of God. 

In 1 Cor. 2:14 this evil disposition is called "the natural 
man," of whom it is declared that the things of God are "fool- 
ishness" unto him. In Rom. 8:7 it is called "the carnal mind" 
or "the mind of the flesh" which "is enmity against God, and 
is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." In 
1 John 3 :g the new disposition is described as God's "SEED" 
that "cannot sin." This "new man" cannot sin any more than 
God can sin, because he is begotten in God's nature. It is the 
supernatural (Zoe) life which is "Christ (the seed of Abraham) 
(formed) in you." The "new man" must be "put on." To 
put on the new man is to pass from death unto (Zoe) life and 
become a new creature. The old disposition — "the old man" — 
cannot be changed or improved, for it is "corrupt according to 
the deceitful lusts." There is no use, then, to try to reform 
or improve it. The "old man" or "body of sin" must be 
destroyed, "put off." The "new man" is not the "old man" 
changed and renewed ; nor does the creation of the "new man" 
involve the instant destruction of the "old man." The two 
dispositions are found in the same individual — the old sinful 
impulses and tendencies, and the new, holy, pure aspirations. 
They exist simultaneously in the Christian. Romans, 7th chap- 
ter, is sufficient proof of this. 

Paul had the conflict between these two natures in his Chris- 
tian experience and became a "wretched man." No such con- 
flict can occur in one who has not been begotten of God. Paul 
wrote, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (the 
new man). "For I know that in me (that is in my flesh)" — 
the old man — "dwelleth no good thing." Notice, also, the 
pronoun "I." One / "would do good" and hates evil; the 



162 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



other / is "carnal, sold under sin" and does evil continually. 
These are two separate natures in the same person. Notice the 
statement, "it is no more / that do it, but sin that dwelleth in 
me." The "new man" repudiates the acts of the old man, as 
not belonging to him. It is not I, the new I, who does these 
things : / hate and abhor them ; it is the old / which still clings 
to me and which I have not learned to fully put off. I, the 
new creation in Christ, cannot sin because I have been begotten 
cf God; but in spite of all the efforts of my will, the old / will 
often capture my feelings, my thoughts, my words, and my 
actions, and use them as if they were still his own. This is the 
true experience of every Christian. There are times, after 
the (Zoe) life has been "put on," that anger, pride, selfishness, 
covetousness, fretfulness and impatience stirs us and we hate 
ourselves and cry, "Oh, wretched man that I am." These two 
natures exist in the same individual all through the Christian 
experience, though not at all times with the same power, and 
the "old man" cannot be annihilated in this mortal life, though 
a sanctified person may live from day to day for long seasons, 
without feeling the motions of the old evil tendencies. 

The reappearance of the old tendency after long years is 
the revival of the same one which previously existed but which 
was inert or put to sleep. Sanctification is an entire separa- 
tion from the old self, a putting off of the old evil tendencies 
by an act of faith. But the "old man" cannot actually be 
destroyed until a physical change has taken place — until the 
man. dies or is "changed in the twinkling of an eye," and given 
a glorified body. No experience in this life secures the "old 
man" which was originally untainted by sin, a part of God's 
creation. It was the carnal part of man's nature, which, before 
the fall, was in perfect, quiet submission to the reasoning 
powers. But since Adam's and Eve's act of disobedience, it 
has become incurably corrupt, because, even when again sub- 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 163 



ject to the control of the reasoning powers it is not passive as 
it once was, but has an instinctive craving to regain its lost 
supremacy over the mind, and must be continually crucified 
and kept in its place by the power of the Holy Spirit. The 
"old man" is really man's instinctive nature, with the evil 
cravings it has acquired since the fall of Adam, intensified by 
Satan's influences. If these evil cravings could have been 
eradicated, there would have been no need for the creation of 
a new spiritual nature, direct from God; but the very reason 
Christ died and rose again was in order to obtain for us a new 
divine nature. 

Those who have learned to fully put off the old man and put 
on the new man must be entirely sanctified to God; because 
one who has by faith completely put off the old self has in a 
true sense become entirely separated from it. This is the true 
meaning of Sanctification — separation from the evil "old 
man," not his ^annihilation. If this experience had meant the 
complete destruction of the old nature and the putting of il; 
out of existence, the word "sanctification" would not have been 
used to describe it. Notice, please, that sanctification is pri- 
marily Gods work (i Thes. 5:23); but there must be a^ 
receptive condition of mind and heart. Full consecration is 
necessary (Rom. 12:1-2) and essential, but knowledge is the 
most essential. Notice, also, that the "new man" is "RE- 
NEWED IN KNOWLEDGE" (Col. 3:10). We need to be 
"made strong to apprehend what is the breadth and length and 
depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which 
passeth knowledge/' Putting off "the old man" is an act of 
faith ; but knowledge must precede faith. And it is the spir- 
itual impartation of this knowledge which is God's part in 
entire sanctification (Eph. 1:15-20, 3:15-19). There is a high 
plane of Christian life where we may live and walk in constant 
fellowship with Him without any heart-condemnation (1 John 



164 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



5 114, 3 :2i-22) requiring repeated repentance and confession, 
and it is possible for us to live on this plane while the "old 
man" is still in existence in spite of the evil that inheres to our 
animal nature. 

To put off the "old man" himself means more than to 
renounce his deeds ; and to put on the "new man" means more 
than to put on "bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of 
mind, meekness, long-suffering, etc." To put off the "old 
man" is to cease to regard the old, corrupt nature as any part 
of our real self, to SHIFT OUR IDENTITY ENTIRELY 
from him to the new man. To put on the new man is to 
identify ourselves completely with the risen Christ, in whom 
there is no sin, to regard the new nature — the (Zoe) life — as 
cur real self before God. Every time we feel the motions of 
the "old man," we must, by an act of faith, steadfastly main- 
tain to entirely separate or sanctify ourselves from the old self 
— put him off — renounce him and his deeds and feelings. 

To be entirely sanctified to God is simply to obey the injunc- 
tion of Rom. 6:n — "Reckon (or regard) yourselves to be dead 
unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus." If we thus 
regard ourselves as dead to sin we cannot reckon ourselves as 
being sinners or think of sin or a sinful nature as any longer 
belonging to us. The moment we begin again to regard the 
"old man" as a part of ourself, and to confess his deeds as our 
own, we become sinners in our own sight and our conscience: 
becomes defiled, and we have ceased to obey the injunction to, 
"reckon" ourselves as dead unto' sin. God tells us to thus 
regard ourselves as alive unto Him. 

Sanctification does not make us alive unto God or free from 
sin in His sight, but it is an act of faith and a life of faith 
whereby we take this place which God's grace has provided for 
us, and we look at ourselves through His eyes, as He has 
created us anew in His dear Son. The life Christ imparted to 



Both of the Just and the Unjust . 165 



us is not only inherently sinless, but also one that has passed 
through death — a risen life — upon which death has exhausted 
all its power. Sin can never more be imputed to the life which 
has passed through death and exhausted it. And it is this free, 
risen life — the (Zoe) life — which becomes ours as much as it 
is His, when by the one Spirit we are baptized into the one 
body. We are created anew in the risen Christ, as members 
of His body ; and His blood which tells of sin forever put away 
from Him, tells the same thing of us, the members, as of Him, 
the Head. This is why "the blood of Jesus Christ His (God's) 
Son cleanseth us from all sin." 

So it is that when we feel the impulses of pride or anger or 
covetousness or fretfulness or selfishness, etc., and find it so 
hard to overcome them, we must regard ourselves as free 
from sin and entirely sanctified to God, and we will have to 
take the position by faith which God's grace has provided for 
us in spite of feelings or appearances to the contrary ; and by so 
doing, more and more power will be generated within you to 
enable you to get those natural impulses under control. The 
putting off "the old man" by faith may occur in an instant, 
and this position may be steadfastly maintained, notwithstand- 
ing the occasional uprisings of the old self. It is not I, the 
child of God, the new creature in Christ Jesus, who thought, 
felt, spoke, or acted wrong: it was my enemy who for the 
moment captured my feelings, my tongue, my hand; but his 
deeds cannot bring me into condemnation, because the blood 
of my Head proves that in Him I have already paid the full 
penalty of death. But I must continually watch and pray lest 
the "old man" be revived. He is very deceitful and may work 
his way into our conduct and words under the guise of zeal for 
God or His cause, or he may intrude his unbelieving doubts 
into our minds, insinuating that such wonderful grace as we 
have been describing is impossible in our case. The moment 



166 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



he has gained any influence, we begin to feel as though some- 
thing was getting between us and God; then we should lift 
our hearts to God, asking Him to discover to us what the "old 
man" is after, and enable us to drive him back. We can say, 
Father, the "old man," my enemy, gained an advantage over 
me then; help me to be better aware of his approaches in the 
future, give me more complete deliverance, not only from his 
power, but from his very influence. Treat him as your enemy 
instead of regarding him as yourself or even a part of your- 
self. Dont try to reform him or drag him into God's presence 
for cleansing. The more you are enabled mentally to dis- 
associate your individuality from the old sinful nature the more 
you will find that the statements, promises and injunctions of 
Scripture shine with brighter and brighter luster. Paul said: 
"I through the law, died unto the law that I might live unto 
GocL I have been crucified with Christ (therefore am as dead 
to the law, which condemns sin and sinners, as He is) yet I 
live; and yet no longer I (the old I, the sinner I, is /, the real 
I, no longer) but Christ liveth in me; and that life which I 
now live in the flesh I live in faith (live by believing in God's 
wondrous grace, and taking the place which that grace has 
assigned to me), the faith which is in the Son of God, who 
loved me, and gave Himself up for me." May we all learn to 
live that life. We cannot hope to be of any account in God's 
service in this life and certainly not in the next unless we do 
live it. It is this sanctified life that will fit us for service with 
Christ in this life and equip us so that we may become true, 
unprejudiced and just judges in the age to come, after Jesus 
comes, when the saints shall judge the earth. 

We are continually crucifying either self or the Son of 
God. Mark well that statement. Christ came to redeem us 
from self. We should pray for power for full deliverance from 
self so that we can be vessels overflowing with love to every 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 167 



body all the day. We either deny self or deny Christ. The 
law of self is sin and death. The law of the Spirit is (Zoe) 
Life in Christ Jesus which makes us free from the law of sin 
and death. 



168 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE. 

BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

In these days of trial, days of preparing the Bride (Rev. 
21:2), those who are the "remnant whom the Lord shall call," 
in whom deliverance, to the Jews and the Heathen, will be 
vested (Joel 2:32), (Ps. 2:8) otherwise known as God's servants 
and handmaids (Joel 2:29), (Acts 2:18) : the true LABORERS 
of the harvest (Matt 9:37-38), the true vessels unto honor, 
sanctified and made meet for the Master's use (2 Tim. 2:21) 
are now having poured upon them the Spirit of the Lord ; they 
are being baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16), 
(Acts 11 : 1 5-16). They are being sorted out and sealed (Eph. 
4:29, 32), (2 Cor. 1:22), (2 Cor. 5:5) as true servants, with 
the earnest of their inheritance, until the redemption of the 
purchased possession (Eph. 1:13-14), (Acts 20:28-30); with 
the first installment of the true sealing (Rev. 7:3-10). They, 
as wise virgins, are having oil poured into their vessels, their 
lamps are trimmed and burning; they know the Word of God 
and the plan of salvation and are burning to make it known 
to others, so they continue steadfast, unmoveable, always 
abounding in the work of the Lord. They that go out to 
meet the Lord must go with the oil of the Holy Spirit in their 
vessels (Matt. 25:1-13), setting the world on fire with the 
fire of love. 

When one has met the conditions of the Lord and as soon as 
he has literally presented himself upon the altar of the Lord 
as a living sacrifice for service, even to be faithful unto death 
in the service of the Lord, having put off the old man and his 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 169 



deeds and put on the new man, that one receives the baptism 
of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:14) and he at once begins to grow 
in grace and to receive, according to the promise (1 Cor. 12:7) 
and according to his capacity for service, certain of the speci- 
fic gifts of the Spirit mentioned in the 12th chapter of First 
Corinthians, for the work of the ministry in the edification of 
the Body of the Christ. He at once begins to bear the fruit of the 
Spirit, viz. : love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, good- 
ness, faith, meekness, and self-control, by which all men can 
know him. His life becomes more like the life of Jesus, full 
of tenderness, compassion for the helpless, courageous in the, 
face of death, pitiful, meek, lowly, humble, tireless in service, 
loving and gentle. But if the baptized one fails to keep his 
vow with the Lord (Deut. 23:21-23) that one will lose the 
blessing and joy of the Spirit; the communion of the Spirit 
will be broken; the peace of God he once possessed will pass 
away; the love, tenderness and compassion he had for the sin- 
stricken and the disease-smitten will change into selfishness; 
the cares and pleasures of this age and the deceitfulness of 
riches will choke the Word and he will drift back into wilful 
sin, make shipwreck of faith and finally be lost in everlasting 
destruction from the presence of the Lord. In other words, 
he "will lose himself" (2 Pet. 2:20-22), (Heb. 6:4-6), (Luke 
9:25), (Luke 11:23-26). The spirit of love that once possessed 
him will be turned into the spirit of slander and murder. The 
"old man" will be revived. 

There is some justification in believing that making a great 
show of the baptism in the Holy Spirit has a tendency to 
cause one to fall away into sin. Close observation of those who 
try to make their light shine before men instead of letting 
their light shine before men has revealed the fact that exalt- 
ing self and testifying in public of our attainment through our 
own righteousness only tends to disgust people. But this sort 



170 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



of testimony has been encouraged by assembly leaders who 
have singled out those who claim the baptism in the Holy 
Spirit by virtue of their having "spoken in tongues," so that 
many have assumed that they are better qualified to under- 
stand spiritual things and are better fitted to judge ecclesiastical 
matters. So it is that when any subject of importance or a 
grievance comes before the assembly for decision, those who 
have spoken in tongues are called upon to judge. Paul found 
nearly the same condition in the Corinthian Church and gave 
advice to "set those to judge who are the least esteemed in the 
Church" (1 Cor. 14:1-2), (1 Cor. 6:4). Then, too, it is becom- 
ing popular with those who claim the Spirit baptism, to de- 
pend more upon spirit messages than upon the Word of God, 
claiming that these are the days of God's sovereignty and that 
the Holy Spirit will teach, independent of the Bible, what 
should be spoken in the assembly. So we find some leaders 
waiting upon God to fill them with sermons aside from self- 
preparation, and the "feet shod with the preparation of the 
Gospel of peace," and a thorough study of the Word of God. 
We may hear many good things, but many bad things are 
spoken in these messages that are contrary to the Bible; and 
it is not absolutely safe to say that the message spoken is of 
God, unless the message is in absolute harmony with the Bible, 
because, when God speaks, He does not contradict the Word. 
Then, too, when the message comes from God the atmosphere 
is spiritual ; but if it is fleshly, the atmosphere seems dull and 
heavy. 

Many children have received an unnatural faculty of speak- 
ing in foreign tongues they never learned, after they have pre- 
sented themselves before God for this baptism, and it has been 
called a Bible evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, 
But when we look at the lives of these children we can see no 



Both of the Just and the Unjust . 171 



change from their former disorderly conduct and they live and 
act for the most part like ordinary children who never knew 
God. Men and women have received this gift of tongues and 
they, too, have been known to do things unbecoming Disciples 
of Christ. They do things that unbelievers have a right to 
complain against, such as spitework, envying others whom 
God uses more than they, tattling on their neighbors, showing 
partiality toward those of like gifts, becoming busy-bodies in 
other men's matters and slanderers of those who teach con- 
trary to their ideas. When we look at the religion of the 
Spiritualist, we see these very things among their assemblies 
whose religious life comes direct from Satan. Spiritualists 
have the gift of tongues also. The Mormons claim these gifts, 
and both receive spirit messages in languages they never 
learned (i Cor. 14:23, 26), (1 Cor. 12:30). 

Finally, let us remember that the test of the baptism in the 
Holy Spirit is not "by their gifts ye shall know them," but it is 
"by their fruit ye shall know them." The fact that a Christian 
has one or more of the specific gifts mentioned in First Corin- 
thians Twelve is no evidence at all that he has the true bap- 
tism in the Holy Spirit. Nothing less than being possessed 
of the fruit of the Spirit — love that suffereth long and is kind ; 
that envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not 
behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily pro- 
voked, worketh no ill to his neighbor, etc. — joy, that is un- 
speakable; — peace, that passeth all understanding; — longsuf- 
fering, that backbiteth not nor taketh up a reproach against his 
neighbor; — gentleness, that leadeth men to glorify the Father; 
— goodness, that is mindful of the widow and the fatherless, 
the sin-stricken and disease-smitten, the poor, the imprisoned 
and the heavy laaen ; — faith, that will go out into the high- 



172 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

ways and hedges and compel the poor, the lame, the halt, the 
blind, and the sinful to quit sin and uncleanness, that will 

"Rescue the perishing, 

Care for the dying, 
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave ; 

Weep o'er the erring one, 
Lift up the fallen, 

Tell them of Jesus, the Mighty to save" ; 

meekness, that knows no man-fear or hatred; — self-control, 
that is always exercising itself to have always a conscience 
void of offence toward God and men; — this only is a positive 
proof of the true baptism in the Holy Spirit. Mark well that 
word "self-control." 

Many have what they term the baptism in the Holy Spirit, 
but they are possessed by the spirit of slander and familiar 
spirits that cause them to testify or sing in unnatural ways as 
theatrical people do, in ways that are disgusting and offensive. 
We cannot possibly know them by their gifts; we can know 
them only by their fruit. 

In view of the fact that the Spirit of God has expressly 
declared that a feature of the "latter times" should be a de- 
parture from the faith once delivered to the saints, and a 
giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, speak- 
ing lies in hypocrisy, forbidding to marry, etc., we need not be 
at a loss to determine the source of the looseness and im- 
modesty which characterizes those who claim God's fullness 
but who are not possessed of SELF-CONTROL; who dwell 
upon flesh manifestations and make themselves offensive to 
unbelievers. 

The baptism in the Holy Spirit, while it has manifestations 
and demonstrations, is a baptism that is a complete submersion 
by Jesus Christ our Lord, which keeps us under the Blood if 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 173 



we continue in the Word, and empties us of self, decreasing 
us so that we may fulfil John 3:30 and become self-abne- 
gated channels through whom the Holy Spirit's power can 
flow freely in distributing or bestowing the blessings of God 
upon unbelievers as well as believers. We must become chan- 
nels who efface self, not mediums who exalt self. Then we^ 
will not desire to get up on a public platform, as some do, to 
the shame of Christ, exalting self and carrying on in unseemly 
ways or in singing imitations of a comic opera. 

We have heard the "heavenly music" sung by those filled 
with the Holy Spirit, and it is indeed wonderful, inspiring, 
uplifting, joyful, pleasing, humiliating and heavenly. But how 
depressing, unpleasant, the songs sung by those possessed 
of familiar spirits ! And how exalted and self-righteous the 
singer appears to the audience ! 

This is the age of misrepresentation, a time when Satan and 
his hosts of demons use men, women and children, and through 
whom they show "great signs and wonders; insomuch that, 
if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." We 
cannot safely depend upon what men say of themselves, or of 
the gifts they possess. We must depend upon their works 
and the testimony "established in the mouth of two or three 
witnesses." Men testify of themselves and misrepresent facts. 
Testimony of self is of little value in the assembly. Unbe- 
lievers take little stock of self-praise or self-estimated values. 
If you were to sell your horse and represent him as perfect 
in every respect, or even if you truthfully represented him in 
several defects, etc., your prospective buyer would doubt your 
word. The horse may look good, but your buyer wants to see 
him trot or travel. He wants his life examined, not only from 
your standpoint but from his own viewpoint. You might try 
to sell a piece of land on your own representation, but a 



174 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



sensible buyer will investigate it to suit his own ideas before 
he dare make a purchase. Men are not in the habit of going 
into business ventures or making investments unless they 
know that it will pay them to take the step. So it is in the 
Christian life from an unbeliever's viewpoint. Unbelievers 
are made so largely because (so-called) Christians have gotten 
up in the assembly and given false testimony concerning their 
goodness and the things they are doing for the Lord, how the 
Lord has used them and of their great value in His service. 
They preach one thing and practice another and no one can see 
the fruit of these things in their lives so quickly as the unbe- 
lievers see them. 

The unbeliever is in trouble. He does not care to bother 
with the uncertainties of the future as men have preached it. 
He only cares for the present. He wants to live on and on 
forever. He does not care for much else than to want to get 
lid of himself and the sins and diseases that are surely drag- 
ging him into the jaws of death. He wants peace, harmony, 
joy, love, righteousness and the power to resist temptations. 
He needs the associations of those who will love him and help 
him. 

"Do you know the world is dying 
For a little bit of love? 
Everywhere we hear the sighing 

For a little bit of love; 
For the love that rights a wrong, 

Fills the heart with hope and song; 
They have waited, oh, so long, 
For a little bit of love." 

If Christians testify of possessing such attributes and of 
enjoying them, they must show the goods. It is not so 
much what we say of ourselves as what others say about us 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 175 



that carries weight to the unbeliever or even to the other be- 
liever. Christianity is a business. Its profits consist of right- 
eousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit and love for others. 
Testimony in the assembly should not consist of my own 
goodness, or purity, or service ; but it should consist of "what 
hath God wrought." It is for the glory of Christ that we 
should testify what God has done for us and for others through 
His dear Son. Men will know for a certainty whether we are 
baptized in the Holy Spirit, or sanctified, regardless of our 
testimony. In fact, it would be better if Christians would not 
publicly boast of such blessings. People can see by our lives 
what we are. They need not to be told. As Christians we 
should humble ourselves and follow Christ who "made Him- 
self of no reputation" (Phil. 2:7). 

We should not rejoice in the gifts and blessings we receive 
from God, and toy with them. We should glory in Christ the 
Blesser and rejoice that our names are written in the Lamb's 
Book of Life. People who claim the baptism in the Holy 
Spirit have formed the habit of going the rounds of the church 
and inquiring of their fellow Christians whether they have 
"received the baptism" — meaning by this, whether they have 
yet spoken .in "tongues." It is absolutely wrong to do so. It 
makes one self-righteous, bigoted, high-minded and weak; one 
becomes as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal (1 Cor. 13:1). 
Satan takes advantage of this condition and comes in to defile 
that life. The evidence and proof of the baptism in the Holy 
Spirit is bigger than speaking in tongues. 

In the water baptism (Matt. 28:19) we are baptized BY THE 
HOLY SPIRIT into the ' One-Body and symbolically into 
Christ's death. In the Spirit baptism (Matt. 3:11) we are bap- 
tized BY JESUS into the fellowship of His suffering and literally 



176 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

made conformable unto His death and eager to sacrifice self 
and all that we possess that we may win others for Christ. 

Holiness promotes love for others and keeps us humble. 
It saves men from the spirit that says, "Stand aside, for I am 
holier than thou !" The more a man has the presence of God 
the less he has of self-assertion and pride. Our work is to 
absolutely surrender self to God. God's work is to work in 
us to will and to do of His good pleasure. We should commit 
our all unto Him against the day of Christ (2 Tim. 1 :i2) for 
His keeping, lest familiar spirits come in to deceive us. 

Philip Mauro says : "The woman was the first 'medium' 
employed by Satan in communicating with mankind; and he 
still manifests a strong preference for the female side of 
humanity. Experience shows that, for some mysterious reason, 
women are more susceptible than men to spiritualistic in- 
fluences. In view of this fact, it behooves all women, espe- 
cially Christian women, to be exceedingly careful in these 
perilous times, and to suspect every movement which is 
attended by abnormal subjective experiences. It will be ob- 
served as an invariable rule that in all spiritual manifestations 
of sinister origin (such as the most recent one, accompanied by 
an uncouth imitation of the gift of tongues) , and which involve 
also the unscriptural phenomena of substituted personality 
(the true personality being displaced by a spirit), the great 
majority of those who have this 'experience' are women." 

Because of this condition Satan has made a sort of side-show, 
of the church, by their performances. It will be well for us 
to remember that when the Apostles received the blessing of 
the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, they did not play with 
the blessing, and show it off, but they received it humbly; 
they at once got the missionary spirit and began to do service* 
for the Lord in obedience to their sacrifice, and thousands 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 177 

began to be saved. In the development of this blessing there 
is an outgrowth that is of a still higher nature than all the 
blessings yet given. When Jesus baptizes in the Spirit and 
fire the subjects become enveloped, submerged, filled inside 
and covered outside with the Spirit of the God of love and 
they become flames of fire in destroying the strongholds of 
sin and in tearing down the works of Satan ; God will be in 
them, above, below, and around them and they will be given 
the glory state for which Jesus prayed, "that they may be one ; 
as thou Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be 
one in us : that the world may believe that thou hast sent me ; 
and the glory which thou gavest me I have given them ; that 
they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in 
me, that they may be made perfect in one ; and that the world 
may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as 
thou hast loved me" (John 17:21-23). 

A sad condition exists among leaders who claim baptism in 
the Holy Spirit and who have prejudices and cannot love each 
other and work together. When this glory state has been re- 
ceived by God's ministers, they will get together and settle 
vital questions of doctrine as did the apostles of the early 
church (Acts 15:6); men will tremble before the Lord and 
His servants, and the old time religion that made men of 
all stations of life welded together in one mind and the old 
time Pentecostal power of persuading men will so convince unbe- 
lievers that they will be convicted of sin and will turn with 
contrite and broken spirits, and they will again cry out, "What 
shall we do to be saved," as they did at Pentecost. Then 
the words of Jesus will be fulfilled: "By this shall all men 
know ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (Phil. 
2:1-7). We will not have to tell men we are Christ's dis- 
ciples. They will see it in us, if we are. 



178 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



F. B. Meyer, in his address on "Castaway," says: 

"(Eph. 5:18) gives each ©ne of us a positive command: 'Be 
filled with the Spirit.' It is very remarkable that in Acts 2 
and Ephesians 5 the infilling of the Holy Spirit in its effect 
is compared to the effects of wine on the physical system. 
'Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with 
the Spirit/' and you can never have excess ; you can never have 
too much of the Spirit. 

''There are three points of comparison that I want you to 
notice — joy, speech, power. 

"First. Wine produces a sense of exhilaration. A drunken 
man will sing as he reels to his home, and when a man is 
leally filled with the Holy Ghost, he becomes a singing Chris- 
tian, and a Spirit-filled church is always a singing church. 
Ever\- great outburst of the Holy Spirit's power has been ac- 
companied by singing. Luther's revival spread through Ger- 
many by singing Luther's hymns. Whitfield was accompanied 
by a Wesley, and Moody by a Sankey, and in Germany the 
Moravian Church has given us the songs of Gerhardt, with 
many more. 

"Secondly. A man who is filled with wine is garrulous. He 
talks ; you cannot keep him still. And a man who is filled with 
the Holy Spirit talks ; he cannot keep silence ; he must tell what 
God has done. 

"Thirdly. A man who is filled with wine is conscious of a 
great increase o.f power. He feels as if he could stand alone 
against the world. So the man who is filled with the Holy 
Ghost is full also of the Power of God." 

A man must have the seat of his affections clean; his will, 
his determination and his purpose must be clean before he 
can be filled with the Holy Spirit. The infilling of the Spirit 
and the indwelling of Christ in the person brings a life that 
has its root, its joy, its power, its evidence in LOVE, because 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 179 



the indwelling Christ, Himself, is love. Just as little as a 
man can remain in sound'health without the fresh air of heaven, 
can Christians or the Church live according to the will of 
God without the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Apostle, 
when writing to the Ephesians, says : 
"I bow my knees unto the Father — 

1. That He should grant you that ye may be strengthened 
with power through His Spirit in the inner man ; 

2. That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith ; 

3. That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be 
strong to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge ; 

4. That ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God" (Eph. 

3:i4-i9)- 

The oil of the Holy Spirit is not all that is required to be- 
come a wise virgin, or a true servant. One must also have 
one's lamp trimmed (Matt. 25:7). The Word of God must 
be studied (2 Tim. 2:15) so that it can be hid in our hearts 
that we might not sin against God (Ps. 119:11), (Ps. 119:105). 
And this Word will set us on fire with God's love, so that our 
lamps will be burning; so we can be shining lights: for the 
path of the just is as a shining light (Prov. 4:18); and we 
must let our light so shine before men that they seeing our 
good works shall glorify our Father, which is in heaven. To 
have the letter of the Word and not the oil of the Spirit is 
equally as inconsistent and deficient in a true servant as to 
have the oil of the Spirit and not the letter of the Word. God's 
true servants must have both the Word and the Spirit. Spirit- 
ual food is as necessary as physical food for the maintenance 
of the Christian life (Matt. 4:4). 

When Peter spoke to the men of Judaea on the Day of Pente- 
cost (Acts 2:14-16) and said "this is that which was spoken 
of the prophet Joel," he referred to those who had just been 
baptized in the Spirit, who had just received the stamp or seal 



180 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



that marks those who, on enduring to the end of their natural 
lives in patience and trials in service for the Master, will in 
the thousand-year-day become the preachers of the Everlasting 
Gospel to the dead who have never had a fair trial for Everlast- 
ing Life, and who will then be resurrected to life. 

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the receiving the power of 
the Holy Ghost coming upon us, not only as a seal that will 
signify we do not belong to the spurious or the counterfeit 
but to endue us for service, making us martyrs for Him and 
putting a cover over us that will quench all the fiery darts of 
the devil. We must drink the cup of sorrow and suffering 
that Jesus drank and be baptized as He was if we are to be 
used of Him for the blessing of others and if we would be- 
come members of the Bride. The baptism in the Holy Spirit 
is the Wedding Garment, the robe of righteousness that the 
members of the Bride must wear in order that they may have a 
right to be at the wedding feast, the Marriage Supper of the 
Lamb (Matt. 20:20-28), (Matt. 22:1-13). 

Note— Satan can imitate every gift and blessing chat God has promised to bestow 
uuon man except the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, longsuffering , etc. That is 
why we claim that the fruit of the Spirit is the "Bible evidence' of the baptism in 
the" Holv Spirit, not "tongues." Jesus said, "by their fruit ye shall know them. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 181 



CHAPTER THIRTY. 

THE RESURRECTION. 

During the Millennium, God will take these sealed servants, 
as one takes salt to season food, and He will scatter them 
among the nations of the earth to preach the Everlasting 
Gospel. They will, indeed, be the salt of the earth — they will 
indeed, be the light of the world, in that they will shine out the 
truth of God's love and promise through Christ who gave His 
life as a ransom for all, to be testified to all in due season 
(Acts 15:13-17). 

But it must be understood that only the joint-heirs with 
Christ, those who have been refined by God in the crucible 
of Divine Service, and who have been tested and tried to the 
last degree of faithfulnesss in this present age and found to 
be true servants of the Master, the true overcomers, can ex- 
pect to become members of this Priesthood. God must re- 
fine us as a refiner of silver and gold to get out all the narrow- 
ness and dross of selfishness before He can use us in the-day- 
of-the-Lord to preach the Everlasting Gospel to the heathen, 
etc. (1 Peter 4:12). 

"Who may abide the day of His (presence) coming? And 
who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner's 
fire, and like fuller's sope: And He shall sit as a refiner and 
purifier of silver: And He shall purify the sons of Levi and 
purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the 
Lord an offering in righteousness" (Mai. 3:2-3). 

As the laws of balance demand that a man must first learn 
tc walk a tight rope stretched a few feet from the ground be- 
fore he can expect to become an expert in walking a rope stretched 



182 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



a hundred feet above the ground; just so, God is requiring 
of those whom He has called as priests and kings for the age 
to come, that they become faithful servants in this age 
who are able to stand against the fiery darts of the Devil, and 
his host of demons (Eph. 6:11-18), and who have, through 
much trial and patient longsuffering, suffered persecution in 
public conflict as good soldiers of the Cross, and overcome 
the world by faith. 

It is a great mistake to suppose that at the second advent 
of Christ this earth and its inhabitants will be utterly de- 
stroyed; for God sent not His Son into the world to con- 
demn the world (John 3:17), nor to destroy men's lives (Luke 
9:56), for "the earth abideth forever" (Eccl. 1:4), (£s. 78:69). 

The great reason for Christ's second advent is to redeem 
men from their lost estate; to restore men to their first do- 
minion; to bring "peace on earth toward men of good 
will"; to give everyone an individual trial, based upon justice, 
for Everlasting Life, the resurrection life. When Paul spoke 
of the resurrection of Christ he used it as an argument to 
prove the resurrection of the dead (i Cor. 15:13-18). The 
resurrection Life is the supernatural Life, the real (Zoe) Life, 
without which no man can have hope in Christ. 

Paul also uses the argument to piove that there shall be 
others besides the Christians of this age who will have hope 
m Christ. He argued: "If in this (Zoe) Life, (the life that 
Christ was given after He arose from the dead, and that was 
given to all believers when they received the Holy Spirit after 
Pentecost) only w r e (who are now Christians) have hope in 
Christ, we are of all men most miserable." Thus we must 
see plainly that there is hope in the age to come for those that 
shall rise from the dead, and that probation does not end 
with this age. As a forcible illustration, we mention the 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 183 

clear teaching of the Bible concerning the restoration of the 
Sodomites, who did not have a full opportunity, and whom 
the Lord compares with Capernaum, who sinned against great 
light (Matt, ii 124-25 ). They, too, must be given life from the 
dead. Jesus also said : "The men of Nineveh shall rise in 
judgment with this generation and shall condemn it." "The 
queen of the South shall rise up in judgment" etc. 

We are everywhere assured by the Scriptures that the in- 
habitants of the earth will not really be lost beyond redemp- 
tion until they have known the Will and Justice of our God, 
whose mercy endureth forever, and then have refused to serve 
Him after they have had a knowledge of Him through the 
preaching of the men of God of this age, or through the preach- 
ing of that man (Acts 3:22-24), (Acts 7:37), whom the Lord 
has appointed to judge the world in the age to come (Acts 
17:31), (1 Cor. 6:2-3). "That man" is the glorified Jesus — 
the Head — and the glorified saints of the First Resurrection, 
the fruitful members of the body — the Bride — otherwise known 
as "the Christ"— "the Anointed." 

None who have died before the day of Pentecost can take 
part in the First Resurrection or can attain unto immortality; 
because they who shall receive immortality must, among other 
qualifications, have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and 
proved faithful to the end in a reasonable amount of service. 
Therefore, it is said of John, the Baptist (Luke 7:28), "He 
that is least in the Kingdom is greater than he." 

John the Baptist and all the patriarchs, whose faith was 
accounted unto them for righteousness, will be in the Kingdom 
of God after they are resurrected from the dead in the second 
or general Resurrection (Luke 13:24-30); but they will not 
have glorified spirit bodies nor inherit the Kingdom of God 
in the capacity of priests and kings, not having been baptized 



184 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

in the Holy Spirit and fire, not being able to become members 
of the Bride of Christ. They will have Everlasting (Zoe) 
Life in bodies of flesh, which will be mortal bodies until the 
close of the Millennium, over which the second death will have 
power (Heb. 11 :40), they having been partakers of the second or 
general resurrection; but the Bride of Christ — (the Anointed 
ones) — will have Everlasting (Zoe) Life in immortal, glori- 
fied spirit bodies, over which the second death will have no 
power; they having been partakers of the First Resurrection 
(Rev. 20:6). 

In the reading of the Bible, men have assumed, because of 
wrong teaching, that when the man dies, his soul or spirit 
departs to the great beyond or to a spirit world, being sepa- 
rated from the body which goes into the grave. They assume 
that the soul retains the conscious faculties of sense, but that 
the body returns to dust. To sustain this theory they strain 
the Scriptures and teach that the resurrection will be of the body 
of flesh out of the grave, and that this body will at once 
ascend up to the clouds where the spirit will meet it in the 
air and be again united. This has been encouraged by the so- 
called Apostle's creed which was never the creed of the 
Apostles, and which contains a statement that cannot pos- 
sibly be sustained by the Scriptures. But to strengthen their 
views, men have constantly misquoted or strained the plain mean- 
ing of First Corinthians (15:42-43). They read the words as 
they are written, but they misinterpret the text as though it read : 

"So also is the resurrection of the dead (body of flesh). It 
(the body of flesh) is sown in corruption; it (the body of, 
flesh) is raised in corruption ; it (the body of flesh) is sown 
in dishonor ; it (the body of flesh) is raised in glory ; it (the 
body of flesh) is sown in weakness ; it (the body of flesh) 
is raised in power ; it (the body of flesh) is sown a natural 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 185 

body; it (the body of flesh) is raised a spiritual body. There is 
a natural body and there is a spiritual body." 

The above could not be true of the body of flesh which Christ 
had, because it was not sown in corruption, nor in dishonor, 
nor in weakness. But how differently it reads, and how beauti- 
ful, when the true interpretation is given ! Paul had just been 
speaking of the death of Christ, and how His whole person 
died. He was arguing that the life that Christians had 
dwelling in them was now the same that Christ was given at 
His resurrection. It was resurrection life that the "gates of 
hades" had no power against. It was the (Zoe) Life, the 
Everlasting Life, the Life that made us members of the One 
Body, the Church. This (Zoe) Life is the gift of the Holy 
Spirit that is given by the will of God to as many as re- 
ceive Him. It is the (Zoe) Life that is given to us by God 
by which we are given the power to become the sons of God 
(John 1:12-13), (Acts 5:32), (1 John 5:10-12). Paul has ex- 
plained that the first man was made a living soul, a natural 
body, and that the spiritual body is taken out of the natural 
body. He does not speak of the individual body at all; but 
he is speaking of the difference between the Adamic body of 
which all men are members through nature, and of the Body 
of Christ, the Church, of which only true Christians are mem- 
bers through the Spirit. It is this collective spiritual body 
that he is speaking about. It is the Body of Christ, the Church 
and the body of Adam ; not an individual body. It is the 
resurrection of the dead that Paul refers to, not the resur- 
rection of the flesh body of any individual. With this in mind 
let us read it as it is written : 

"So also is the resurrection of the dead (the Greek puts it, 
"dead ones") it (the collective body of dead ones) is sown in cor- 
ruption ; it is raised in incorruption ; it is sown in dishonor ; it is 



186 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

raised in glory ; it is sown in weakness ; it is raised in power ; it 
is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual body." 

Then Paul goes on to explain that it is only the spiritual 
body that can inherit the Kingdom of God (verse 50). 

The Scriptures declare most emphatically that there are two 
Resurrections and that there is a difference in the time and 
manner of the Resurrections. Two forms of expressions are 
used in the original Scriptures to emphasize this difference; 
the one is called "the Resurrection of the Dead, both of the 
just and the unjust" — (anastasis ton nekron) ; the other is 
called the Resurrection out from among the dead — (anastasis 
tes ek nekron). It was this Resurrection out from among the 
dead, the First Resurrection, unto which Paul wished to attain 
(Phil. 3:11-14). The Resurrection of the just and unjust is 
the general or Second Resurrection (Dan. 12:2-3), (John 
5:25-29). 

Notice particularly that it is a resurrection both of the just 
and the unjust. Now, if it be true that the just go to heaven 
above immediately after death to enjoy the rapture of the 
celestials, they must be alive ; hence there is no need of a res- 
surection of the just from the dead; and if it be true that the 
unjust dead are now in hell suffering torment or anguish of 
soul, or remorse of conscience, they must be alive ; hence there 
is no need of a resurrection of the unjust from the dead. To 
resurrect is to resuscitate. 

We have noticed already that there cannot possibly be any 
enjoyment or suffering whatever to anything but an animate 
material organism or person, and that there can be no life in 
a dead man. We must also conclude that neither one of the 
parts of a man, dead or alive, is in itself a person; neither can 
any part of itself be a conscious entity. But we are told there 
is a resurrection of only the body; for the spirit has flown to 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 187 

its reward. But the Bible say's it is a resurrection of the dead 
— the dead man — (not one-third or two-thirds, but the MAN) — 
the whole dead man — both the just man and the unjust man, 
woman and child, and that it is after the resurrection from the 
death state that man comes into individual judgment for the deeds 
done in the body. 

It was the preaching of this Doctrine of the Resurrection that 
got Paul and all the Disciples and Christ Himself into so much 
trouble, and we hear Paul making his defense before the Gover- 
nor when he says : 

"But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they 
call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all 
things which are written in the law and in the prophets ; and 
have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, 
that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just 
and unjust" (Acts 24:14-15), Acts 17:31-32). 

"I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concern- 
ing them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others 
which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and 
arose again, EVEN SO them also which sleep in Jesus will 
God bring (from the dead) with Him" (1 Thes. 4:13-14). 

The Doctrine of the Resurrection is a cardinal doctrine and 
a central truth of the Christian system upon which all other 
doctrines of the Bible hang. The crucifixion of Christ is as 
nothing compared with His resurrection. The Apostle says, 
"for if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and 
your faith is also vain. Then they also which are fallen asleep 
in Christ are perished" (1 Cor. 15 Chap.). Life again from the 
dead is a gift of grace through Jesus Christ, our Lord. It is 
given to all in order that God may keep His promise — the 
promise he made to Abraham (2 Peter 3 19). This act of resur- 



188 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



recting the. dead is in order that all may have an equal chance 
to be saved. 

"I am the Resurrection and the (Zoe) Life. He that believeth 
on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever^ 
Lveth (or is alive at my coming) and believeth in Me, shall 
never die. Because I live ye shall live also" — (ye shall be 
resurrected also) — (John n 125-26). 

"Like sheep they are laid in the grave ; death shall feed on 
them and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morn- 
ing (the resurrection morning), and their beauty shall consume 
in the grave (not in a literal lake of indestructible fire) from 
their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power 
of the grave" (Ps. 49:14-15). 

"He hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the 
world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained, 
whereof He hath given assurance unto ALL men, in that He 
(God) hath raised Him (Jesus) from the dead" (Acts 
17:31-32). 

"He tasted death for every man," and every man must come 
to a full knowledge of the fact that because Christ died and 
arose again, Everlasting Life is assured to us. If He had not 
risen, we should have remained forever under the dominion of 
death, and have perished utterly and forever. 

It is not a question concerning the bringing down from 
heaven above the soul or spirit of man, neither is it a question 
of raising the body, or the spirit, or the soul of man out of the 
grave, that has to do with the resurrection. The Bible recog- 
nizes no such individual portions of the man in this sense ; 
but it does recognize the man himself. The Scriptures plainly 
declare : "For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole 
v/orld, and lose himself?" (Luke 9:25). 

It is the man himself, the man that God created, and placed 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 189 



under law, the man to whom He said, "Thou shalt surely die," 
the man whom Christ redeemed and to whom He offers 
Eternal Life by a conception from above, by a new birth and 
a resurrection from the dead, that shall be brought out of the 
grave in the resurrection. 

It is only the Wise Virgins whose lamps (Ps. 119:105) are 
trimmed and burning and who have oil in their vessels (Matt. 
25:1-10) who will be given immortality. The foolish virgins 
are not lost. They are simply kept from attaining unto immor- 
tality, because they have failed to live up to the privileges of 
the (Zoe) Life (the overcomer's life) and have come short of 
the high calling of SONSHIP. The door to the immortal 
glorified Life of the First Resurrection is shut on them. But 
they take part in the general resurrection — "saved so as by 
fire" — and go on in the race for Everlasting (Zoe) Life where 
they left off in this life when death cut them off. But should 
any have come to a knowledge of the whole truth and then re- 
jected the (Zoe) Life and the pleading of the Holy Spirit and 
wilfully committed sin against the true light, they will never 
come up in the resurrection to see Everlasting (Zoe) Life 
(Heb. 6:4-6), (Heb. 10:29) but will pass from the "hades" 
death to the "gehenna" death — the second death (Rev. 21 :8) 
to utter obliteration, to "the death" ; for "the wages of sin is 
death" (Rom. 6:23)*; not eternal preservation of life in a literal 
lake of fire— but DEATH (2 Pet. 2:20-22). 



Note — Wherever "the end of the world" is mentioned in the New Testament, the 
Greek words used are, "te sunteleia tou aionos" and should have been translated, "the 
end of the age." 



190 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE. 

THB LOST. 

To die the first death — the "hades" death — is because of 
Adamic sin (Heb. 9:27-28), (Rom. 5:12). To die the second 
death — the "gehenna" death — is because of individual willful 
sin (Jer. 31:29-30), (Ezek. 18:20) committed apart from in- 
herited physical weaknesses after having had the law of God 
written in our hearts and lives (Jer. 31 :33) ; and after the 
power and ability to overcome sin has been given to us (1 Cor. 
10:13). 

The fact that a person is morally good, or that he is ignorant 
or innocent, does not entitle that one to the reward of the faith- 
ful and obedient. Because the heathen have never known of 
Christ is no evidence in the light of the Scriptures that they 
are eternally lost, damned, or destined to have a part in eternal 
torment. Because a child dies in its infancy is no evidence 
in the light of the Bible that it shall reach heaven above saved, 
or be lost forever. Because a child dies without being baptized 
in water is no evidence it shall be lost. Baptism must follow 
conviction, repentance and faith or it is of no value whatever. 
A baby cannot be a subject of these things. 

The ignorant will not be saved on account of their ignorance 
nor will they be eternally lost. Men of deep and true thought 
oppose such doctrine on the grounds of injustice. If it were 
true that men are saved on account of their ignorance, or in- 
nocence, then it would be unwise to send missionaries to preach 
to the heathen, because to sin against light is worse than if 
they had no light at all. If men could be saved through ignor- 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 191 



ance it were better to leave them in ignorance, and not send 
missionaries to them. In this case the coming and death of 
Jesus and the suffering and preaching of the disciples would be 
all in vain. Therefore, we see that instead of there being 
several- ways of salvation, one by works, another by ignorance, 
another by good morals, another by innocence, there is but one 
way to salvation, and that is through faith in the shed blood and 
the resurrection of Christ, who is the propitiation — the satisfac- 
tion — for all our sins and the sins of the whole world. "Neither 
is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name 
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." 

The Scriptures plainly teach that only those are lost who 
have refused to believe into Christ after they have come to a 
full knowledge of the truth ; for some have not the knowledge 
of God (i Cor. 15:34). They also declare that God counts as 
utterly lost beyond hope of redemption only those : 

1. Who were once enlightened (1 Tim. 2:4-6). 

2. And have tasted of the heavenly gift — Eternal (Zoe) 
Life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23). 

3. And were made partakers of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1 :8). 

4. And have tasted of the good Word of God (2 Tim. 2:15). 

5. And the powers of the age to come (John 16:13). 

6. And have fallen away (Heb. 6:4-6), (Rom. 11:22), (2 
Pet. 1 14-10) . 

It is "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord" that 
shall be saved (Rom. 10:13). Paul reasons that a man must 
hear the Gospel before he can believe, saying: "How, then, 
shall they (who have never had a fair chance) call upon Him 
in whom thy have not believed? And how shall they believe 
in Him in whom they have not heard? And how shall they 
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except 
they be sent?" (Rom. 10:14-15). So, then, faith COMETH by 



192 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

hearing (listening to) and hearing by (obeying) the Word 
of God. 

God counts as sinners only those who knew Him and His 
righteousness through the law, the prophets, or through the 
preaching of the Gospel, and who, having heard, rejected the 
Life of righteousness. Only those are sinners who have trans- 
gressed the law of God willfully and knowingly. Those who 
never knew the law of God cannot be called sinners, no matter 
how wicked they have been. All those who have never heard 
of God's righteousness are counted as unbelievers, wicked, 
heathen. It would be unjust for God to set aside as eternally 
lost those who are wicked because of the peculiar circum- 
stances under which they were born and reared, which cir- 
cumstances have put them beyond the power of being anything 
but wicked. 

The law of compensation must prevail, "whatsoever a man 
sdweth that shall he also reap"; "for unto whomsoever much 
is given, of him shall be much required"; and the judgments 
of God will not be based upon outward appearances, but God' 
will take into account the sleights of men, and the wrestings of 
the Scriptures in the pulpit, and also the inherited physical 
weaknesses with which man is born (John 5:30), (1 Sam. 
16:7), (Isa. 28:17). That servant which knew His Lord's 
will and prepared not himself, neither did according to His 
will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who knew 
not, and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten 
with few stripes (Luke 12:47-48), (Col. 3:25). 

Man not being responsible for being born into this world 
with a weak brain or body, having been conceived in iniquity, 
must be dealt with justly in the judgment; for it is only those 
who have once become a branch of the True Vine and failed 
to bear good fruit, who are cut off utterly (John 15:1-6), and 
lost (Ezek. 18:19-23); "for in those days (the thousand-years- 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 193 



of-judgment) they shall say no more, the fathers have eaten 
a sour grape and the children's teeth are set on edge. But 
every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that 
eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge" (Jer. 
31:29), (Ezek. 18:1-23). Christ is the true Vine. His people 
are the branches, and live by their union to Him as long as 
He lives, but the branches that are severed from Him must 
wither and die. 

God's judgment must be just; His ways must be equal. 
(Ezek. 18:25-29). Those that shall be lost eternally must have 
been first converted to Christ; they must have been cast forth 
as branches of the True Vine who failed to bear good fruit. 
One must have become a branch of the True Vine before it 
can be possible for one to "ABIDE" or "NOT ABIDE" in 
Christ (John 15:5-6). It is upon them that fall after having 
become engrafted into the Vine upon whom the severity of 
God shall fall (Rom. 11:17-22); and not until then can one 
have become capable of committing that sin which is unto 
death (1 John 5:16), and hath never forgiveness (Matt. 12:30- 
32). 

Every man that ever lived of that shall live must come to a 
knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:3-4). Therefore Paul was 
determined to evangelize where Christ was not named in order 
that those who never had heard the Gospel preached should 
have a chance to serve Christ. And Paul says that all those 
to whom Christ was not preached, THEY THALL SEE; and 
they that have not heard SHALL UNDERSTAND (Rom. 15 :20- 
21). Not until these have become enlightened can they be capable 
of committing sin against God ; for God hath concluded them 
all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all (Rom. 11 :32). 
Then will have been fulfilled the prophecy of the angel to the 
shepherds (Luke 2:10): "Behold I bring you good tidings of 
great joy, which shall be to ALL PEOPLE" ; and the prophecy 



194 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

of Christ will also then be fulfilled, "Marvel not that I said 
unto you, ye must be begotten again" (John 3:7), (John 3:17). 
"I if I be lifted up from the earth will draw ALL unto me" 
(John 12:32), (Luke 9:56), (John 6:45). 

Christ gave His life a ransom for all, for every man, woman 
and child that ever was born, or that ever will be born; and 
this fact must be testified to each one in due season either in 
this age, after he has reached the age of accountability, or 
in the age to come after he has come up in the 'second resur- 
rection and has reached the age of accountability (Isa. 65:20). 

According to Rom. 14:10-11 it shall come to pass that every 
knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess Him. All they 
that confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe 
in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead shall be 
given (Zoe) Life — shall be converted, shall be saved (Rom. 
10:9). Although after one has been converted, one may back- 
slide and fail to follow the Christ, for a t'me that one cannot 
be lost utterly until he has become reprobate (2 Pet. 2:20-22), 
(Rom. 1:26-32), abandoned to sin because of his own wilful- 
ness in not desiring to endure hardness as a good soldier of 
the Christ and of being loyal to confessing Christ before men.' 
(Matt. 10:32-33). 

"It shall be said in that day" (the thousand-year-day-of- 
judgment or reign of Christ) : "Lo this is our God; we have 
waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation 
(Isa. 25 :g) ; and none shall need to say to his brother, know 
the Lord ; for they shall all know Him from the least to the 
greatest" (Jer. 31:34), (Rom. 11:32), (Rom. 5:18-20), (Luke 
3:6, 19:10). 

But in order that they may know Him, they must be resur- 
rected from the grave, from the great prison-house, where 
there is neither work nor device nor wisdom nor knowledge. 
Christ will not call them from purgatory, heaven, hell, or 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 195 

paradise, but just as He did in the presence of Mary and 
Martha, we might picture Christ with out-stretched hands 
bending before the graves of the dead and crying out, "I am 
He that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for ever- 
more; and have the keys of hell (the grave — hades) and of 
death ! I am the Resurrection and the Life ! He that be- 
liveth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ! (John 
11:25). Because I live, ye shall live also!" And He will call 
with a loud voice, ''Lazarus, come forth I" And "all that are 
in their graves shall bear his voice and come forth" (John 
5:28-29). "For since by man (Adam) came death, by man 
(Jesus the Christ) came also the resurrection of the dead. 
"For as in Adam all die, EVEN SO in Christ shall all be made 
alive, but every man in his own order" (1 Cor. 15 :21-22). "And 
the sea shall give up the dead and death and the grave shall 
deliver up the dead which are in them" (Rev. 20:13). Then, 
"whosoever liveth and believeth in Christ shall never die." 
(John 11:26). "But the soul that sinneth, .it shall die" — the 
second death (Heb. 10:26-31), (2 Pet. 2:20-22), (Ezek. 18th 
Chap.). 

Perfect obedience will then be required, and perfect ability 
to obey will then be given. This is the restitution which was 
spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world 
began (Acts 3:19-21) when the times of refreshing shall come 
from the presence of the Lord. Then every man who wilfully 
disobeys shall die for his own sins, for he will have sinned 
against full light and ability. Then whosoever liveth and 
believeth in Christ shall never die (John 11:26). It is after 
the resurrection that it shall be said: "Let him that is unjust 
be unjust still ; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still" 
(Rev. 22:11). Everlasting Life is promised only to the obe- 
dient. 



196 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



Dr. Gardiner Spring says, "We die; but intervening ages 
pass rapidly over those who sleep in the dust. There is no 
plate there on which to count the hours of time. No longer 
is it told by days, or months, or years; for the planets which 
mark these periods are hidden from their sight. Its flight is 
no longer noticed by the event perceived by the senses, for 
the ear is deaf and the eye is closed. The busy world of life, 
which wakes at each morning and ceases every night, goes on 
above them, but to them all is silent and unseen. The greet- 
ings of joy and the voice of grief, the revolution of empires and 
the lapse of ages, send no sound within the narrow cell. Gen- 
eration after generation are brought and laid by their side; 
the inscription upon their monumental marble tells the cen- 
turies that have passed away; but to the sleeping dead, the 
long interval is unobserved. Like a dream of the night, with 
the quickness of thought, the mind ranges time and space 
almost without limit. There is but a moment between the 
hour when the eye is closed in the grave and when it wakes 
to the judgment." 

Truly, Jesus is the Saviour of the world. He was anointed 
to preach the Gospel to the poor; he was sent to heal the 
broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and 
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are 
bruised (Luke 4:18). And when He shall have come a second 
time without sin unto salvation, then in a greater sense than 
ever before "the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the 
ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man 
leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." And all 
who have died the first death, not having had a fair chance 
to come to an accurate knowledge of the truth, shall see and 
shall understand (Rom. 15:20-21); for in the ages to come 
God will show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kind- 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 197 

ness toward us through Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:7). Christ 
"shall come to be admired in all them that believe in that day" 
— the thousand year day (2 Thes. 1:10). 

All men shall come unto justification of (Zoe) Life (Rom. 
5:18) ; for His mercy endureth forever. But no man, having 
put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the 
Kingdom of God. 

Wherever the truth is preached as it is in the Bible, wher- 
ever men "earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the 
saints" there will be men Avho will connive and scheme to kill 
the preacher or put him out of business. This has been true 
of all the prophets of God and of the Apostles and the true 
disciples of Christ throughout the ages. In Paul's time, when 
the gospel was preached, when he preached "the hope and 
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust," 
there were religious organizations that preached "transmigra- 
tion of souls" because it brought them gain (Acts 19:17-28). 
These, seeing that "fear fell on them all, and the name of the 
Lord Jesus was magnified, and many that believed came and 
confessed and shewed their deeds ; that many of them also 
which used curious arts brought their books together, and 
burned them before all men," became very much alarmed, "so 
mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed." And they 
began to call together their fellow-men and said, "Sirs, ye 
know that by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover, ye 
see, and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost through- 
out all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much 
people, so that this our craft is in danger." And they tried 
to kill Paul. So it will be in this age among the religious 
people who use religion as a cloak for gain. Religious people, 
not the openly wicked, persecute the disciples of Christ. 

In preaching the truth, one must preach the Word which is 



198 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



opposed to the theory that when a man dies he goes either to 
heaven or to hell to his reward; that all the heathen shall be 
lost ; that favors can be begged of God by an intercessor if he 
is paid enough money; that the wicked can be bought out of 
a hell of torment ; and that men's souls leave their bodies in 
death to transmigrate. These are all heathen doctrines which 
men have incorporated into the Christian system. 

There is absolutely no question of doubt that some religious^ 
organizations will persecute the same today in one way or 
another. But we have this consolation : All who will live 
Godly shall suffer persecution and shall be hated of all men 
and shall have all manner of evil spoken against them falsely 
for Christ's sake. And we are told to "rejoice and be exceeding 
glad for so persecuted they the prophets." And we are told 
to "endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ." 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 199 



CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO. 

THE HIDDEN MYSTERY OF CHRIST. 

Christians in general are so very ignorant of the cardinal 
doctrines of the Bible that the ordinary infidel can put them 
to shame by asking a few simple questions. For instance, an 
infidel may ask, Why are you a Christian? But the Christian 
seldom gives anything but an answer that savors of a selfish 
motive. Only a few Christians really have any good reason to 
offer to those who ask. 

Christianity, in its first principles, is a religion that teaches 
self-efTacement and self-abnegation ; that throws self in the 
background ; that takes no anxious thought of self, what self 
shall eat, drink, or wear ; but it trusts in the Living God for 
the supply of every need. The true Christian in his motive 
is one who would leave all, who will lay down his life for the 
sake of Christ and the Gospel, and for the salvation, healing, 
protection, and welfare of others. Jesus taught us that if we 
would be His disciple, we must deny self and take up the 
cross daily and follow Him ; but there are only a few of those 
who take the name of Christian who deny self. 

The infidel asks, Are you saved? What is it to be saved? 
What do you mean by the word saved? But he can get no 
simple answer to his inquiry that he can understand. It is a 
mystery to him. A missionary once said to an infidel, Have 
you got salvation? And the other asked, What do you mean 
by salvation? But the missionary got angry at the direct 
question, thinking that the infidel was trying to start an argu- 
ment on religion, and he walked away, leaving the unbeliever 
unanswered and discouraged. 



200 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



It is indeed a sorry spectacle to see men and women 
launched out in the mission field not properly informed, with 
only a hazy idea of Bible terminology, not shod with a prep- 
aration of the Gospel of Peace, not girt about with Truth, 
without the Sword of the Spirit with which to quench the, 
fiery darts of the Devil, with which to put to shame those 
that would make light of the Christ whom they try hard to 
represent. A minister ought to have the ability to stand as a 
good soldier of the Cross and be a real advertisement for 
Jesus before he makes any attempt at mission work. He 
should learn to be unmoveable, steadfast, invincible, indis- 
pensible, reliable, tender, free from the deceitfulness of riches, 
from politics, which is a worldly system, and from commer- 
cial pursuits. He should be compassionate, logical, indus- 
trious, blameless, faithful in the little things, unselfish, tem- 
perate in all things, hospitable, holding fast the Faithful Word, 
that he may be able by sound doctrine, both to exhort and to 
convince the gainsayers (Eph. 4:2-3), (2 Tim. 2:24-26), 
(Titus 2:7-8), (Heb. 5:1-2), "who can have compassion on the 
ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he 
himself also is compassed with infirmity." It takes a great 
deal of prayer and watching and fasting for a man of God to 
keep in the place where his prayers will be answered when the 
needy call on him to pray (1 Tim. 3:1-13), (Tit. 1 :6-n). 

The servant of the Lord who would preach the Word with 
the greatest power of persuasion must desire not to be a great 
preacher but a minister qualified to supply the needs of others. 
He must sacrifice self. He must -walk by faith and not by 
sight. He must desire to take up his cross daily and follow 
the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. He must count his life 
not dear unto him, but willingly sacrifice his earthly interests 
that others may be participators with his Redeemer in glory, 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 201 

honor and immortality, and in His great work of the future — 
the blessing of all mankind in fulfilment of God's promise to 
Abraham. No one ever loses what he sacrifices for the Father. 
No good thing will the Lord withhold from them that walk 
uprightly and alone with Him. He knows how much things 
cost, and weighs them where others measure. 

The minister of the Lord must be gentle as a nurse to her 
children (1 Thes. 2:4-9). He must be absolutely surrendered 
to the Word and absolutely dependent upon God. God does 
not measure his value as a servant because of the number of 
college or university degrees of honor he has won, nor because 
of the number of years he has spent in the study of theology 
in divinity schools, nor because of eloquence of speech. Mark 
this : Christ never taught His disciples how to preach, only how 
to pray. The Father measures a man's value not by results, but 
by the effort made, by the sacrifice made. What Christ is to be 
to us depends wholly upon what we are willing to be to Him. 
If I do what God says, God will do what I say. If I am indeed 
a part of the Vine, every moment and every movement I must 
act as His property, as a part of Himself, as one who only 
seeks to know and do His will, as one whose chief aim is to 
glorify the Father and the Name. The life of the good branch 
is a life of much fruit, because it is a life rooted in Christ, the 
Living Vine (John 15:1-7, 16). Men whose will is to guide 
the path in which God's will is to work, must be men who have 
themselves learned obedience, whose loyalty and submission to 
authority must be above suspicion and subject to any test. He 
should know the will of God and be nourished up in the words 
of faith and good doctrine, independent of sectarian ties. 

In a time like this God wants men with strong minds, true 
hearts, true faith and ready hands; men whom the lust of 
office does not kill and whom the spoils of position cannot buy; 
men who possess opinion', a will, honor and loyalty; men who 



202 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

can scorn at treacherous flatteries and who can live above the 
pleasures, lusts and fog in public duty and in private thinking. 

One may go to almost any preacher of modern theology and 
fail to obtain a good Scriptural definition for the words life, save, 
salvation, savior; he will get a long, drawn out, mysterious reply 
that will be out of harmony with the other cardinal truths of the 
Bible and which only explains away the real thought that ought 
to be conveyed to the earnest inquirer. These words are the key 
words to the whole Bible and God's plan of redemption for fallen 
man. Thus we see how Satan is holding back the truth, filling 
the minds of men with erroneous ideas and twisting the imagina- 
tions so that it is absolutely necessary for men to study, and 
search the Scriptures which are able to make one wise unto salva- 
tion — unto (Zoe) Life — that the man of God may be throughly 
furnished unto all good works; that he might show himself ap- 
proved unto God, a laborer that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly 
dividing the Word of Truth ; that he might be ready at all times 
to give an answer to every man, that asketh him a reason of the, 
hope that is in him, with meekness and reverence. 

If the infidel should ask such an one why he is a Christian, 
that one can immediately declare that he is a Christian because 
he desires to obtain Everlasting Life by patient continuance in 
well doing through faith in the crucifixion and resurrection of 
Christ, and through the suffering of much persecution, that he 
might become a minister of mercy to alleviate the sufferings, 
misery, sorrow, pain and woe of humanity, and to comfort them. 
All disciples should be determined to be so. Our determination 
ought to be kindled to the point of eternal vigilence, for this is 
the price of success. And it will be only by determined applica- 
tion and prayerful searching of the Scriptures that one may be 
able to learn to know the mysteries of Godliness. 

We must not read our own interpretation, our preconceived 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 203 



notions, or the theology of men into the Scriptures ; but we must 
"prove all things" by the Word of Truth, be open to conviction 
of the Truth and set aside the modern way of thinking and get 
back to the apostolic times, the apostolic way of thinking and be 
determined to know "what saith the Scriptures." We will never 
understand the deep things of God until we humble ourselves as 
children at the feet of the Master, be willing to do the things He 
tells us to do and seek to be guided by the Holy Spirit through 
intuition and the Word in all our daily walks of life. We must 
live as we learn and give out to others the truths the Holy Spirit 
has revealed to us before we can expect to be shown deeper depths 
of God's love and mercy. If a man will not work — work out his 
own salvation with fear and trembling — neither shall he eat. 
Before any one can expect to become expert in any line, that one 
must work at it to perfect himself. All the Christianity, the love 
of God that Christians enjoy is what they get by working out 
their own salvation. We must work or we shall not eat. We 
must be fruit-bearing branches of the True Vine or we will be 
cut off and withered — burned. 

One of the best and most interesting helps in the study of the 
Bible is the English translation of the Syriac Version of the New 
Testament. Although many points are strained in order to 
suit modern theology and contrary to the harmony of the 
teachings of the Holy Spirit, it is a volume that can be recom- 
mended to Bible students. We find by a careful examination 
of this volume that the translator has given us some plain 
English terms by which we can easily understand some of tlie 
mind of the apostles and the evangelists who wrote the New 
Testament. It is here that we get the fullest meaning of the 
four key words of the Bible. The terms used are the same 
that could have been used by the translators of the original 
Greek manuscripts, viz. : 



204 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



Greek Ver. 



Zoe. . . . 
Soteria. 
Sozo. . . 
Soter. . . 



Common Ver. 



Save 

Salvation 



bavior 
Life... 



Syriac Ver. English Trans. 



The principle of supernatural life. 
The gift of supernatural life. 
To give supernatural life. 
The Giver of supernatural life. 



As we observed before, there are two words in the Greek 
rendered life — the one PSUCHE, which we get from Adam 
by natural generation, which is common to all men and tran- 
sient; the other ZOE, which we get only through Christ by a 
supernatural re-generation which is common only to those who 
have been "justified freely by His grace," and who have been 
"begotten from above" and who now seek to become "copies 
cf God's dear Son," to be joint-heirs with Christ according 
to the hope of Eternal (Zoe) Life. 

This is the truth that is most prominent in all the sayings of 
Jesus and the early Disciples, and it is this (Zoe) Life, the 
gift of it, and the Giver of it, that is the essence of the preach- 
ing of the true Gospel of the Kingdom of God. When the 
(Zoe) Life dwells in a person, then the Christ dwells in that 
person. 

"This is the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from 
generations, but now is made manifest to His saints ; to whom 
God would make known what is the riches of the glory of 
this mystery among the Gentiles ; which is CHRIST IN YOU : 
whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man 
in all wisdom ; that we may present every man perfect in Christ 
Jesus ; whereunto I also labor, striving according to His work- 
ing which worketh in me mightily." 

In the physical realm there are five great kingdoms; four 
of them, the mineral kingdom, the vegetable kingdom, the 
animal kingdom, the kingdom of man, are transitory and sub- 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 205 

ject to change; while the fifth, the Kingdom of God, is an 
everlasting Kingdom which shall never change. That which 
is a part of a lower kingdom cannot lift itself to a higher plane, 
but that which is of the higher must reach down and lift up 
the lower. The vegetable feeds upon the mineral and the 
mineral becomes part of the vegetable; the animal feeds upon 
the vegetable and the vegetable becomes part of the animal. 

On the same principle God (with man's consent) reaches 
down and drops into the man through His Holy Spirit, the 
(Zoe) Life; and after a certain period man becomes a mem- 
ber, a part of the Kingdom of God. But Satan, who belongs 
to the spiritual realm, can come in and influence man not to 
consent to have the (Zoe) Life of God or to refuse to cultivate 
it, and in so doing Satan gets in his work and corrupts man's 
nature so that man goes downward toward the mineral plane 
instead of being elevated to the higher plane. 

Man is made of the dust of the ground and has within him 
that property which tends toward death, which tends toward 
the dust. Every impure thought, every filthy or lustful sug- 
gestion or communication, every malicious trick or lie, and 
every wrong act is inspired by Satan and is a transgression 
of God's law of righteousness and purity and has a tendency 
to make man more like the animal by sin which, when it is 
finished, brings forth death, when the man — not only his body, 
but the whole man — must die and must return to the mineral 
kingdom, from whence man was taken ; for the wages of sin is 
death. But when man resists Satan, he will flee from man 
and God will help man so that man can overcome Satan ; and 
then each victory over unrighteousness, in any of its forms, 
will give new courage to the man, and he permits God to take 
him up higher in the life of righteousness ; and he finally enters 
fully into the Kingdom of God. 



206 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

Then again, let us look at this from another angle. In 
Nature there is a law which reads, "Whatsoever a man soweth, 
that shall he also reap." In order to produce anything, seed 
must be sown. The best ground to sow seed in is that which 
contains the most decayed matter. It must be watered. Out 
of the seed springs a reproduction of the tree which bore the 
seed. So it is with the seed God sows. This seed is the Word 
(Luke 8:4-15). The tree is Christ. Just as true as the acorn 
contains the stately oak tree, so the seed, — the Word of God, 
— that is sown in our lives contains the Christ in embryo. If 
this law is true of the vegetable kingdom, it is equally true 
of the animal and of the spiritual kingdoms. 

"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it 
abideth alone ; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 
12:24). It is said that in growing corn the inside of the 
grain rots and dies and only the hull is left, but that out of the 
decayed center there grows the blade, and then the stalk, and 
so on. Seed grows best in decayed soils. The seed contains 
in it all the elements of the whole stalk before it grows except 
the water, air and light which helps to germinate it. So it is 
with the (Zoe) Life. Our Lord must have used the corn to 
illustrate this to the disciples. The Christ Life is planted as a 
seed, and the seed — the Word — decays in us. We can feel 
it decay when we are convicted of sin and our consciences 
hurt us. The seed sprouts and throws out roots. The more 
roots the more ground is needed to nourish the roots. It must 
be fertile ground. So we begin to crucify the deeds of the 
body, we die to self so the plant can mature. The Christ has 
been formed within us and God permits us to pass through the 
fires of persecution to cultivate the ground in which the Christ 
seed is growings and the (Zoe) Life grows just as the parable 
explains (Matt. 13:1-23). If we are good ground, it grows 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 207 

until we reach perfection, until we are like Him. This is the 
mystery of the Kingdom of God: "Christ — the (Zoe) Life — in 
you ,the hope of glory." 

According to the ancient Syriac Version, Jesus said: 

"I am the resurrection and the (Zoe) Life" (John 11:25). 

"I am the Way, the Truth and the (Zoe) Life." 

"No man cometh to the Father but by me" (John 14:6). 

"I am the Door. By me if any man enter in he shall be 
given (Zoe) Life" (John 10:9). 

"The Son of man came to seek and to impart (Zoe) Life to 
that which was lost" (Luke 19-10). 

"I am come that they might have (Zoe) Life" (John 10:10). 

Once when Jesus was preaching to the people and explain- 
ing what this (Zoe) Life was, He said unto them: 

"This is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which 
seeth the Son and believeth on Him, may have Everlasting 
Life : and I will raise him up (out of the grave) at the last 
day. I am the bread of (Zoe) Life. This is the bread which 
came down from heaven : not as your fathers did eat manna 
in the wilderness (the bread that sustained life only until 
death) and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live 
forever. Verily, verily I say unto you, Except ye eat the 
flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no 
(Zoe) (supernatural) Life in you" (John 6th Chap.). 

He explained to them that to eat His flesh and to drink His 
blood is to dwell in Him and to have Him dwelling within 
them. And that in just the same way as He got (supernatural) 
(Zoe) Life from the Father, so those who eat Him, or dwell 
in Him, shall get their (supernatural) (Zoe) Life from Him 
(verses 56-57). But many of His disciples no doubt were not 
yet fully converted from their heathenish belief of natural 
immortality of the soul, for they murmured at Him and said, 



208 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



This is a hard saying: who can hear it? Jesus had explained 
to them that no one could come to Him except the Father 
draw him and that the}- shall all be taught of God, and that 
every man that had heard and had learned of the Father 
would come to Him. Xow it was very evident that many of 
His disciples were so self-centered that God could not teach 
them; for they had ideas of their own and were prejudiced and 
not open to conviction of truth. They were as unteachable 
as many Christians of the present day. So we do not wonder 
that "from that time many of His disciples went back, and 
walked no more with Him." And in the last hour, "they all 
forsook Him and fled" (Matt. 26:56). 

Peter says: "Neither is there deliverance in any other, for 
there is not another name under heaven which is given to 
men whereby to live. Him hath God exalted with His own 
right hand to be a Prince and Life-Giver" (Acts 4:12, 5:31-32). 

Paul says : "Our concern is in the heaven : from thence we 
expect our Life-Giver, our Lord Jesus the Messiah." Phil. 

3 :20-2I. 

"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation 
that Jesus the Messiah came kito the world to give (Zoe) Life 
to sinners. For this is good and acceptable before God our 
Life-Giver: who would have all men Live and be converted 
tc the Knowledge of the truth. For therefore we both labor 
and suffer reproach because we trust the living God who is the 
Life-Giver of all men, especially of believers" (1 Tim. 1:15, 
2:3-4,4:10). 

"The first Adam was made into a living soul ; the last Adam 
a Life-Giving Spirit" (1 Cor. 15:45). 

There is no everlasting life of any kind whatever except 
through Christ; for the gift of God is Eternal (Zoe) Life 
only through Jesus Christ our Life-Giver. The only antithesis 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 209 

mentioned in the Bible is everlasting destruction (2 Thes. 1 :9). 
No purgatory is mentioned or hinted at in the Bible. 

"The bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven 
and giveth (Zoe) Life unto the world. ... I am the bread 
of (Zoe) Life. . . . Your fathers did eat manna in the wilder- 
ness, and are dead (not living up in heaven where Jesus went, 
nor in a hell of torment — but, are dead). . . . This — the (Zoe) 
Life — is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a 
man may eat thereof and not die. ... I (Jesus) am the bread 
which came down from heaven. . . . Except ye eat the flesh 
of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no (Zoe) Life 
in you. . . . Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, 
hath Eternal (Zoe) Life and I will raise him up (from the 
dead state, from the grave) at the last day (the thousand-year- 
day). ... As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by 
the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live (shall be 
resurrected to life) by me. . . . Many therefore of his dis- 
ciples, when they had heard this, said, This is a hard saying; 
who can hear it ?" John 6 :33-68. 

Many of His disciples of today who do not believe in the 
neglected, apostolic doctrines of conditional immortality, and 
the hope and resurrection of the dead both of the just and the 
unjust, are saying, This is a hard saying; who can hear it? 
Listen, Brother! Who can hear it? He that believeth God. 

"He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because 
he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And 
this is the record, that God hath given to us Eternal (Zoe) 
Life, and this (Zoe) Life is in His Son. He that hath the Son 
hath the (Zoe) Life and he that hath not the Son of God hath 
not the (Zoe) Life" (1 John 5:10-12). 

The burden of the Gospel message is the preaching of "all 
the words of this (Zoe) Life" (Acts 5:19-20), (John 6:48). 



210 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

"And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, 
saying, 'Master, what shall I do to inherit Eternal (Zoe) Life'? 
He said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest 
thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. 
And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right : this do and 
thou shalt Live" (Luke 10:25-28). 

When Peter had finished his remarkable discourse on the 
day of Pentecost, "they were pricked in their heart, and said 
unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, 
what shall we do? Then Peter said unto thm, Repent, and 
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, 
because of the remission of sins, and ye shall receive [the 
(Zoe) Life] the gift of the Holy Spirit; for the promise is 
unto you and to your children and to ALL that are afar off, 
even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:37-39), 
(Eph. 2:8), (Rom. 6:23). 

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation ; for when he 
is tried he shall receive the crown of (Zoe) Life which the 
Lord hath promised to them that love Him" (Jas. 1:12). 

"And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even 
Eternal (Zoe) Life" (1 John 2:25). 

"In hope of Eternal (Zoe) Life, which God, that cannot lie, 
promised before the world began" (Titus 1:2). 

This is the hidden mystery: "Christ — our (Zoe) Life — in 
you." This is the supernatural life that God gives to all who 
will trust and obey Him, "to you and to your children and to 
all that are afar off." 

There are two ways — the way of Life and the way of Death. 
The (psuche) natural life has but one antithesis, the first 
death, the hades death, which is common to all mankind and 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 211 

beast alike. The (Zoe) supernatural Life has but one an- 
tithesis, the second death, the gehenna death, obliteration, dis- 
solution of the person of the man, everlasting destruction. Not 
the annihilation of the person and of the substance from which 
man is composed, but the destruction of the person of the man ; 
for the material from which man is composed must return to 
dust from whence it was taken (Eccl. 3 :20). 

It is this (Zoe) Life that will be lived in the Kingdom of 
God after the second advent of Christ, which to live is "Life 
Eternal," which not to live has but one alternative, "everlast- 
ing destruction." 

"In Him was the (Zoe) Life and the (Zoe) Life was the 
light of men." 

"I am not ashamed of the Gospel : for it is the power — the 
dynamite — of God unto salvation (the gift of (Zoe) Life) to 
every one that believeth : to the Jew first, and also to the 
Greek; for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from 
faith to faith" (Rom. 1:16-17). 

This (Zoe) Life is the Gift of the Holy Spirit which is given 
to every one who will repent of sin (restore that which has 
been stolen; apologize to those who have been sinned against), 
believe the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, be baptized in 
water (Matt. 28:19), (Mark. 16:16) because of the remission 
of sins (Acts 2 :38) and take up the cross daily and follow Him. 
It is the earnest of the unspeakable gift — Everlasting Life. 

A baby cannot receive the (Zoe) Life because a baby cannot 
repent and believe the Gospel. Repentance cannot come until 
there is a conviction of sin and a transformation of the life 
wrought by a renewing or change of mind of the person him- 
self. No one can do it by proxy. God-fathers or god-mothers 
are of no account with the Lord. Each must hate sin for 
himself. While a man is walking in the broad way that leads 



212 The Hope mid Resurrection of the Dead 

to destruction, the Lord meets him on the way and with a still 
small Voice that speaks to the conscience says, "My son, give 
me thine heart (person) and let thine eyes observe my ways. 
... I am the Way . . . Let the wicked forsake his way and 
the unrighteous man his thoughts . . . This is the way, walk 
ye in it. . . . Enter ye in at the strait (narrow, low, humble) 
gate, because strait is the gate and narrow the way which 
leadeth unto (Zoe) Life." Then if the man will listen to the 
still small Voice, and is willing to do the will of God (John 
6:44), God works in him both to will and to do of His good 
pleasure. "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature (not 
a new being, but — a new creature) ; old things are passed away ; 
behold all things become new" and the things he now loves, 
he once hated; and the things he once hated he now loves. 

It is this (Zoe) Life that gives a penitent man the deter- 
mination to overcome the world, the flesh and the Devil, to 
abstain from worldly pleasures, from evil communications, 
from filthy, disgusting, intemperate, lustful habits, from secret 
vices, and to abstain from the very appearance of evil. With- 
out this Gift of Life no one can expect to be able to overcome 
the abnormal desires and appetites of the flesh and to have a 
right to partake of the good things of the Kingdom of God. 

It is this (Zoe) Life that will be given to all who come up 
in .the second resurrection (John 5 :28-29) during the judg- 
ment of the great day — the thousand-year-day (2 Tim. 4:1). 
Then some "by patient continuance in well doing" shall retain 
this (Zoe) Life, while others will refuse to accept the 
Life, and to listen to the "Prophet" (Acts 3:22-23) and will 
trample under foot the Son of God (Heb. 10:29) and will be 
given the only alternative — everlasting destruction, death (Heb. 
10:26-31), (Rom. 2:1-16, 6:23), (2.Thes. 1:7-10). 

It is this (Zoe) Life that, we get from the Life-Giver in this 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 213 

life that makes us free from the fetters of narrow-mindedness, 
bigotry, self-righteousness, prejudice, factional strife; free from 
the fear of losing friends whose ideas and theories are antag- 
onistic to the Word of Truth; free from the whip of the so- 
called shepherd who would lord it over God's heritage, and 
free from the cares of this present life. Whom the Son makes 
free is free indeed. 

It is the (Zoe) Life that drives out all self-consciousness and 
develops in us a living by the faith of the Son of God; that 
develops in us the love that suffereth long and is kind, that 
envieth not, that vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth 
not behave itself unbecomingly, seeketh not her own, is not 
easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity but 
rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, 
hopeth all things, endureth all things ; love that never faileth. 
This is the LIFE that gives unspeakable joy, that fills us with 
peace which passeth all understanding, so that by faith we have 
peace with God; that makes us want to point others to this 
LIFE, and makes us want to walk in the light as He (Christ) 
is in the light, so that we can fellowship with every sincere 
Christian, regardless of color, caste, sect or creed; that gives 
us a conscience void of offence toward man and God; that 
makes us lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so 
easily beset us; that makes us run with patience the race that 
is set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of 
our faith. 

It is this supernatural LIFE that makes us forget those 
selfish things which are behind and reach forth unto those 
things which are before, pressing toward the mark for the 
prize of the high calling of God in Christ — the prize of SON- 
SHIP— BRIDESHIP— with an earnest desire of attaining unto 
the RESURRECTION OUT FROM AMONG THE DEAD, 



214 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

and to become PRIESTS and KINGS of the age to come in the 
Kingdom of God, when they that be wise (the teachers of the 
WORD) shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and 
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and 
iorever. 

This is the LIFE that makes us want to go and preach the 
Gospel to every creature, in obedience to Christ's command, and 
to deliver the land of all nations from the chains of error with 
which Satan and his hosts have been hindering them from 
coming to an accurate knowledge of the truth. 

"Sing them over again to me, 

Wonderful words of Life; 
Let me more of their beauty see, 

Wonderful words of Life; 
Words of Life and beauty, 

Teach me faith and duty; 
Beautiful words, wonderful words, 

Wonderful words of Life." 

Notice particularly the admonition of Peter that we may con- 
tinue in this (Zoe) Life: 

"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowl- 
edge of God, and of Jesus, our Lord, according as His Di- 
vine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto the 
(Zoe) Life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that 
hath called us to glory and virtue : whereby are given unto us 
exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might 
be partakers of the Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption 
that is in the world through lust. And besides this, giving all 
diligence, add to your faith virtue ; and to virtue knowledge ; 
and to knowledge self-control ; and to self-control patience ; 
and to patience godliness ; and to godliness brotherly kindness ; 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 215 

and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things be in you, 
and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren not 
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 
1 :2-n). 

And then notice the few important passages in which the 
(Zoe) Life is so emphasized in a literal translation of the Greek 
text, viz. : 

"Strait is the gate and narrow the way which leadeth unto 
(Zoe) Life and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:14). 

"And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest; 
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His 
ways; to give knowledge of the (Zoe) Life unto His people 
by the remission of sins, through the tender mercy of our God" 
(Luke 1:76-78)/ 

"All flesh shall see the (Zoe) Life of God" (Luke 3:6). 

"Beware of all avarice, for the (Zoe) Life consisteth not in 
abundance of riches" (Luke 12:15). 

"Our Lord added daily to the assembly those who were given 
the (Zoe) Life" (Acts 2:47). 

"The Prince of (Zoe) Life ye slew" (Acts 3:15). 

"Neither is there the (Zoe) Life in any other for there 

i? not another name under heaven which is given to men whereby 
we can have the (Zoe) Life" (Acts 4:12). 

"What must I do to have (Zoe) Life? And they said to 
him : Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Messiah, and thou 
wilt have the (Zoe) Life" (Acts 16:30-31). 

"And ye also are given the (Zoe) Life through baptism (not 
when ye wash your bodies from filth, but when ye confess God 
with a pure conscience and through the resurrection of Jesus 
the Messiah" (1 Pet. 3:21), (Mark 16:16). 

"God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to the acquisition 
of the (Zoe) Life, by our Lord Jesus the Messiah" (1 Thes. 
5:9-13). 



216 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

"Be like infant children and crave the Word as being the 
pure spiritual milk by which ye are nourished up to the (Zoe) 
Life if ye have tasted and seen that the Lord is good" (1 Peter 
2:2-3). 

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, 
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, 
and our hands have handled, of the Word of (Zoe) Life; for 
the (Zoe) Life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear 
witness, and shew unto you that eternal (Zoe) Life, which was 
with the Father, and was manifested unto us, etc." (1 John 1 :i- 

2). 

"We know that we have passed from death unto (Zoe) Life 
because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14). 

"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, 
he shall ask and He shall give him (Zoe) Life for them that 
sin not unto death" (1 John 5:16). 

"Shall we, whose souls are lighted 

With wisdom from on high, — 
Shall we, to men benighted, 

The lamp of LIFE deny? 
Salvation! oh, salvation! 

The joyful sound proclaim 
Till earth's remotest nation 

Has learn'd Messiah's name." 

This supernatural (Zoe) Life which is given to the Christian 
is the initial salvation of God and is the same life that Jesus 
had within after He w T as resurrected from the dead. Had it 
not been that Christ was resurrected none would now have this 
initial salvation by faith. . The best attested fact in the history 
of the world is the resurrection of the man Jesus of Nazareth. 
All true Christianity finds its source of life in this fact. A 
religion that cannot produce any facts is not worth considering. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 217 



Our faith rests upon facts. Where there are no facts there can 
be no faith. It is because of this faith that we boldly declare 
that God's promises are true and sure and that the future in 
Christ and the destiny of man are not uncertainties. We still 
trust in His promises. And we know He is faithful who prom- 
ised. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. His 
promise of all promises is that through the seed of Abraham all 
the families, kindred, and nations of the earth shall be blessed 
?md every tongue shall confess that He is Lord. Hence, the 
resurrection of all. 



218 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE. 

GLAD-TIDINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

The promise God made to Abraham (Gen. 17:8) has not yet 
Veen fulfilled. God has promised the ancient Jews and their 
offspring that He would take them one of a city, and two of a 
family, and would bring them unto Zion (the Kingdom of God), 
and will give them pastors after their own heart, which shall 
feed them with knowledge and understanding. "And it shall 
come to pass, when they be multiplied and increased in the land, 
in those days, they shall no more say, The Ark of the covenant 
of the Lord ; neither shall it come to mind ; neither shall they 
remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall they walk 
any more after the imagination of their evil hearts. In those 
days the Jews and the Gentiles shall walk together (Jer. 3:14- 
18). Many nations shall, come and say, "Come and let us go up 
to the mountain (Kingdom) of the Lord, and to the house of 
the God of Jacob ; and He will teach us of His ways,, and we 
will walk in His paths ; and they shall beat their swords into 
plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks ; nations shall 
not lift up sword against nation ; neither shall they learn war 
any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and 
under his fig-tree and no one shall make them afraid" (Micah 

4:i-5). 

"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall 
lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the 
fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the 
cow and . the bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie down 
together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the 
sucking child shall play in the hole of the asp, and the weaned 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 219 



child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt 
nor destroy in all my holy mountain (Kingdom) : for the earth 
shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover 
the sea" (Isa. u 16-19) . "And it shall come to pass in that way, 
that the Lord (Jehovah) shall set His hand again a second 
time to recover the remnant of His people" (Isa. 11:11), the 
Jews, "and in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise 
thee : though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned 
away, and thou comfortest me. Behold, God is my salvation ; I 
will trust, and not be afraid ; for the Lord Jehovah is my 
strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. There- 
fore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the well of salvation. 
And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord; call upon His 
name ; declare His doings among the people, make mention that 
His name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord ; for he hath done ex- 
cellent things ; this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, 
Thou inhabitant of Zion (New Jerusalem) ; for great is the 
Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee" (Isa. 12 :i-6). "Behold 
I create new heavens (Symbolically — new ecclesiastical systems) 
and a new earth (social, commercial and governmental systems) ; 
and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind ; 
and the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the 
voice of crying." 

"There shall be no more thence an infant of days nor an old 
man that hath not filled his days ; for the child shall die an 
hundred years old; but the sinner an hundred years old shall 
be accursed" (1 Cor. 15:19). "And they shall build houses 
and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the 
fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they 
shall not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree are 
the days of my people and mine elect shall long enjoy the work 
of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth 



220 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord 
and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that 
before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking 
I will hear" (Isa. 65:17-25). "And it shall come to pass that 
from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to an- 
other shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord" 
(Isa. 65:23). "And they shall teach no more every man his 
neighbor and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord; 
for they shall all know me from the least to the greatest, for I 
will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no 
more" (Jer. 31-33-34), (Heb. 8:10-13). 

We now come to another trick that Satan has used to blind 
the minds of those who read the Bible. Not only has Satan 
gotten man to mistranslate by putting in a word here and there 
that is exactly opposite from what the original Word of God 
was meant to convey, as in the case of the words of Stephen 
at his stoning, previously mentioned ; but Satan has succeeded in 
having the punctuation marks wrongly placed or left out entirely 
so as to entirely change the meaning of the whole plan of salva- 
tion, and so that his old lie, "Ye shall not surely die," shall 
have blinding support. 

Truly, "A drop of ink makes millions think." 
Such has been the case in the reply of Jesus to the thief. If 
the comma had been placed after the word "TODAY" instead 
of before the word, then all would become harmony; for Jesus 
did not go to Paradise that day ; He remained in the grave. The 
little comma has played its part also in the words of Peter 
as recorded in 2 Peter, 3:10, in not having been placed after 
the clause "THE EARTH ALSO." Instead of the earth being 
burned up, which is absolutely contrary to all other Scriptures, 
the passage originally read, "But the day of the Lord (the one- 
thousand-year-day — 2 Pet. 3 :8) will come as a thief in the night; 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 221 



in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, 
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, THE EARTH 
ALSO, and the works that are therein shall be burned up." It 
is a well-nown fact that there were no punctuation marks in 
the original Scriptures. They were introduced by Manutius, a 
printer, who lived in Venice in the sixteenth century. The 
punctuation of the Bible is human and not infallible. 

Let the reader remember that the literal earth is not to be 
melted with literal fervent heat, nor is it to be literally burned 
up either, because the earth abideth forever" (Eccl. i 4). But it 
is the symbolic earth, also the symbolic heavens, and the symbol- 
ical elements that shall melt with symbolical fervent heat and 
pass away. All prophecy is symbolical where figures of speech 
are used to blind the minds of those who are not willing to 
do God's will. Those who are willing to do God's will (John 
7:17) and who will become spiritual minded (1 Cor. 2:14), 
(Rom. 8:5-13) shall know the Doctrine of Christ (John 
16:13-15). 

If the literal heavens were destroyed the good who are said 
to dwell there would be destroyed, too. If the literal earth 
were literally burned up the wicked would be destroyed, too. 
Thus "orthodox" teaching contradicts itself and has nothing 
but a false hope to hand out to its devotees ; a heaven that will 
be destroyed literally with the good people which "orthodoxy" 
is sending there, if it be so that prophecy is to be taken literally 
instead of symbolically. 

Symbolically THE HEAVENS are the ecclesiastical sys- 
tems, false systems of religion, otherwise known in the Scrip- 
tures as "the False Prophet"; and THE EARTH is sym- 
bolical of false social, commercial, and governmental systems, 
otherwise known in the Scriptures as "the Beast." When this 
view, which is Scriptural, is taken into mind while reading 



222 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



the Scriptures, especially when reading 2 Pet. 3:10 and on- 
wards, there can be no misunderstanding (Heb. 12:26-29). 
The reader might refer to Mai. 4:1-2 and notice that it is the 
symbolical "day" that shall burn as an oven, the-thousand- 
year-day. During this thousand-year-day (the Millennium), 
during which time Christ will reign on this earth as King of 
the Kingdom of God, all false ecclesiastical systems — the 
HEAVENS — all false social, commercial and governmental 
systems — the EARTH — will be so renovated, remodeled, dis- 
solved, melted, destroyed, that this whole earth and they that 
dwell therein will be changed back into the Garden of Eden 
state, the Paradise state or condition (Isa. 51:3). The right- 
eousness of that day will shine away, burn up or dissolve, the 
wickedness that now is. The "day" cometh that shall burn as 
an oven. Then wickedness shall be destroyed by the brightness 
of the Christ's presence (parousia), (2 Thes. 2:8). 

Peter very carefully explains (2 Pet. 3 :5-10) that the false 
ecclesiastical systems and the false social, commercial and gov- 
ernmental systems that were before the flood (the first heavens) 
"the heavens of old'' and "the earth" — the world that then was 
— perished, being overflowed by water. He also explains that 
the systems after the flood, — "the heavens and the earth which 
are now" (the second heavens) are kept in store reserved 
unto fire against the day of judgment; that the day of judg- 
ment is one thousand years long, and that during that day 
the systems that now prevail shall pass away and the works that 
are therein shall be burned up, literally dissolved. 

In the vegetable kingdom, law requires that without sun- 
shine and water nothing would grow; but with sunshine and 
a drought all plant life will grow for a short season, only to 
be burned up by the elements. So it is in the Kingdom of God 
during the thousand years of judgment. All that will put on 
the Christ, who is the Water of Life, will live (1 John 2:16-17) ; 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 223 

but those who will not put on the Water of Life will perish, 
be burned up, be destroyed by the brightness of His presence 
(Mark 13:31), (Matt. 24:29). We are looking for new heavens 
^the third heavens) and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteous- 
ness; new ecclesiastical, social, commercial and governmental 
systems. These things must come to pass because of God's 
promise to Abraham (Gen. 17:6-8) which cannot be fulfilled 
until the Messiah has come and the First Resurrection has taken 
place (2 Pet. 3:1-18). Therefore, seeing we know these things 
before, let us beware lest we also, being led away with the 
error of the wicked, fall from our stedfastness. 

Those who never had a fair chance in this age and who will 
serve Christ, after being resurrected from death and taught 
God's ways, shall be restored to the original Adamic life, and 
will have restored to them dominion over the animals, the birds, 
and the fish, as in Adam's time before the fall. At the close of 
the thousand-year-reign of Christ (1 Cor. 15:25-26) the curses 
of heat and cold, seasons, sin, sorrow, sickness, and death will 
have been abolished (Isa. 61:1-11), (Rev. 21:4). Who shall 
say that death and hell shall not be destroyed and that sorrow, 
crying, pain and misery shall never come to an end? Those 
who did not take part in the First Resurrection and become 
members of the glorified Bride but were found worthy of Ever- 
lasting (Zoe) Life will live throughout eternal ages, on this 
earth, in bodies of flesh like the first Adam of the Garden of 
Eden and they will enjoy the comforts of this beautiful earth 
in its then purified state. Some one has w T ell said : 

"The things to be restored by and through Christ are those 
things which were lost through Adam's transgression (Rom. 
5 :i8-I9). Man did not lose a heavenly but an earthly paradise. 
Under the death penalty, he did not lose a spiritual but a hu- 
man existence and all that was lost was purchased by his Re- 



224 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



deemer, who declared that He came to seek and to save that 
which was lost" (Luke 19:10). 

In Adam there was lost all the beautiful harmony and peace 
that was between the animals, the birds, the fish and man. But 
in Christ all this former condition shall be restored to those who 
are faithfully His, and the earth will again be as heaven on 
earth. 

There will be no brothels in that day in which men and wo- 
men and children can corrupt their lives. Rum, tobacco, dance- 
halls, theatres, dens of gambling and secret vice, the white slave 
traffic, false weights and measures, morbid appetites and de- 
sires, all social evils, the slaughter-house, meat markets, the 
adulterated food factory, will be wiped out of existence. Men will 
not want to cut the throats of their competitors in business; the 
desire that now exists in the employer to grind out the last de- 
gree of energy from his employee and the desire of the em- 
ployee to cheat and to steal from his employer will be a thing 
of the past. All religious strife and factions, sects, creeds, riots, 
ruin, tempests, wars and destruction of every kind, Satan 
himself, the grave (hades . . . gehenna) and hell will have 
been utterly abolished and destroyed. Who shall say that 
there is a hell of torment for the wdcked that will cause un- 
ceasing pain and woe and misery forever and ever? 

Insects will do no harm ; crops will never fail ; the curse on the 
ground shall be no more (Gen. 3:17-19); the properties of the 
sun, which now cause sunstroke, fermentation of fruit juices, 
etc., will be harnessed; days and nights will be of equal lengths, 
the waters which flowed out of the bowels of the earth at the 
time of the flood, when the fountains of the deep broke up, 
will no doubt return to the bowels of the earth from whence 
they came (Rev. 21 :i) ; there will probably be a universal 
language spoken which will be understood by all creation (Gen. 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 225 



11 :l-9) and every creature will live a life of love and mercy to- 
ward the other, not having a desire to eat the flesh of each 
other, nor to quarrel with, to revile, to insult, to molest or im- 
pose upon each other. 

This is the Gospel that Paul preached, and it is concerning 
this Gospel that he says, "there be some that trouble you, and 
would pervert the Gospel" (Gal. i :y-S). This is the Kingdom of 
God of which Christ and the Apostles preached the glad-news, 
the Kingdom which Christ taught the Disciples to pray for 
(Matt. 6:10) to come on this earth, both in a spiritual and in a 
literal sense, when the will of the Father shall be done on this 
earth as it is done in heaven. "And ye shall go out with joy 
and be led forth with peace ; the mountains and the hills shall 
break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the 
field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come 
up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle 
tree ; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting 
sign that shall not be cut off" (Isa. 55 7-13). 



226 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR. 

PARADISE. 

The Kingdom of God when fully established on this earth 
will, indeed, be a Paradise. Paradise is not a place of de-' 
parted spirits of the good. In fact there are no such beings 
as disembodied spirit beings mentioned in the Bible; and the 
idea is simply nothing more than man-made theory, and has 
no Scriptural support. Paradise is just another name for the 
this earth, when all the kingdoms of this world are become the 
Kingdom of our Lord, Jehovah, and His Christ, when the last 
enemy "death" shall have been destroyed, and Christ shall have 
surrendered the Kingdom to the Father (i Cor. 15:25-28). 

It is to "him that overcometh" the love of the world, the love 
of money, the lusts of the flesh, the self-life, the love of pleas- 
ure and self-indulgences, and the temptations of the Devil — to 
him who "holds the truth in love," lives the crucified life and 
worships the Lord in spirit, in truth and in sincerity, to. whom it 
shall be given to eat of the Tree of Life (Christ), which is in 
the midst of the Paradise of God (Rev. 2:7). It is those who 
do the commandments of Christ, who shall have a right to 
partake of the Tree of Life (Rev. 22:12-14). 

The word "Paradise" signifies a beautiful garden, a garden 
ground, a park. The first Paradise was the Garden of Eden. 
It was the prayer of the thief on the cross that Christ should 
remember him when He comes into His Kingdom (Luke 23:42). 
Jesus has not yet come into His Kingdom literally, and the prayer 
of the thief is not yet answered, nor will it be until the ap- 
pointed time after Jesus has come again, when the thief will be 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 227 

resurrected from the death state and will stand before the Judge 
in Paradise — the Kingdom of God. 

During the time of the "restitution of all things spoken of 
by all the Holy prophets" (Acts 3:19-21) this earth will be 
renovated and restored back to its original Garden of Eden 
state (Isa. 51:1-3), (Ezek. 36:33-36), otherwise known in the 
Scriptures as the Kingdom of God or Paradise ; and to accom- 
plish this end the whole of the thousand-year-reign-of-Christ 
will be consumed ; and when the last enemy, "death," is destroy- 
ed, Christ shall Himself give up the Kingdom to the Father and 
will Himself be subject unto the Father (1 Cor. 15:28). There 
can then be no more (Kakos) evil that will lead men to death, 
because Satan, who is the author of evil and death, shall have 
been destroyed. Therefore we see that since the last enemy — 
death — will be destroyed at the end of the thousand years, then 
all judgment shall be over. Then the inhabitants of this earth 
will live on throughout eternal ages in complete harmony with 
God and with each other. At the close of the thousand-year- 
reign-of-Christ this earth will be known as Paradise, the new 
heaven and the new earth, or the Third Heaven, the place and 
conditions of which Paul saw when he was caught away (2 
Cor. 12:2-4), otherwise known as the Kingdom of God, the 
Everlasting Kingdom that shall stand forever and ever (Dan. 
2:44), (Rev. 20:10), (Rev. 21:4). 

Let us preach the Gospel in such a way that men will count 
it a joy to serve Christ, rather than preach it in a way that men 
will count it foolishness, because of trying to scare them into 
serving Him lest He be angry with them and put them into a 
so-called hell, a place of everlasting torture. Our God is a God 
of love, not a cruel monster as some make Him out to be. A 
loving father never has to force his children to love and serve 
him. The children of a loving father will serve Him because 



228 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



they cannot help but love to serve him. Love calls for love. 
To love is to be loved. If a shepherd has a hundred sheep 
and one goes astray, will he not hunt until he finds the lost? 
This is just like our God of love. He will seek out every one 
that has gone astray, and will cause that one to know his love 
and then if the lost one will return, even the angels will rejoice 
and will sing songs of praise (Matt. 18:12-14); but if he will 
not return to the Father who loves him, then surely he will 
die an everlasting death (i Tim. 214), not deserving the pleas- 
ures and the gift of Everlasting (Zoe) Life (Ezek. 18:24-32). 
God never once sent a man into the world to preach any other 
gospel than the Gospel of the Kingdom of God (Luke 16:16) ; 
and never did he commission or permit men to throw aside the 
preaching or teaching of any part or phase of that Gospel 
(Ezekiel 34th Chapter). 

The reason men do not believe the preaching of today in 
general is because there are those who would pervert the Gospel 
(Gal. 1:7); they do not "preach the Word" (2 Tim. 4:2); 
"when any one heareth the Word of the Kingdom and considers 
it not, then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which 
was sown in his heart" (Matt. 13 :4, 19). They fail to search the 
Scriptures (Acts 17-11), (John 5:39); they study to show 
themselves approved of men (2 Tim. 2:15) ; they do not rightly 
divide the Word of Truth ; they let others do their thinking for 
them; they take for granted and for true doctrine the sleights 
of men (Eph. 4:14) ; they handle the Word of God deceitfully 
(2 Cor. 4:2); they are not messengers of mercy (Luke 10:30- 
37); they feed themselves instead of their flock (Acts 20:28); 
they do not alleviate suffering (Matt. 25:34-46). They com- 
pass sea and land to make proselytes for filthy lucre's sake (Matt. 
23:15), (Titus 1:11), (Titus 1:16). They profess that they 
know God; but in works they deny Him (Heb. n :6). 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 229 

Let us bend our theories to the plain teachings of the Word 
of Truth, the Bible (Eph. 4:14-15). There is but one Gospel 
of which it can be said that it is the power of God unto salva- 
tion to every one that believeth; a Gospel that reveals the jus- 
tice and righteousness of God. Beware lest any man spoil you 
through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, 
after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him 
dwelleth all the fullness of the Deity bodily. The Father loveth 
the Son, and hath given all things into His hand. He that be- 
lieveth into the Son hath Everlasting (Zoe) Life; and he that 
believeth not the Son shall not see (Zoe) Life. 

This is the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from 
generation, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God 
would make known what is the glorious wealth of this secret 
among the nations, which is "Christ (The (Zoe) Life) in you 
the hope of glory." The gift of God is Eternal (Zoe) Life 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus said : "My sheep hear 
my voice . . . they follow me; and I give unto them 
Eternal (Zoe) Life; and they shall never perish, neither shall 
any man pluck them out of my hand." He that believeth not 
God hath made God a liar, because he believeth not the REC- 
ORD that God gave of His Son. And this is the RECORD 
that God hath given to us Eternal (Zoe) Life, and this (Zoe) 
Life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath the (Zoe) Life; 
he that hath not the Son hath not the (Zoe) Life. 

We must preach the same glorious Gospel that Paul preached ; 
a Gospel that makes men live by faith (Rom. 1 :iy). We are 
commissioned to preach the Gospel of the iC'ingdom of God 
(Luke 16:16) in such a way as to make disciples, who will live 
righteous lives now so that they will be able to live in the 
Kingdom of God after the resurrection of the just and the un- 
just, and live throughout eternal ages in a Paradise on this 



230 



The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 



earth, where thorns and thistles, trials and sorrows, sins and 
diseases, death and destruction, shall no more have dominion 
over us, having been altogether abolished. 

The Doctrine of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is a 
Doctrine that teaches that there shall be a "restitution of all 
things" (Acts 3:19-21) that will renovate and transform this 
earth and the inhabitants, vegetation, and all life, back into its 
primitive state and conditions. Then will the prophecy of 
Deuteronomy 11:21 be fulfilled and man will indeed enjoy 
life as "THE DAYS OF HEAVEN UPON THE EARTH/' 
"If any man, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel 
... let him be accursed" (Gal. 1 :6-i2). 

The Kingdom of God is like a net that was cast into the sea, 
and gathered of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew 
to shore and set down and "gathered the good into vessels" — 
"but cast the bad away." 

It is like a field of grain. The wheat and tares grow together 
until the harvest ; and in the time of harvest the good wheat 
is gathered into the barns, but the tares are bound into bundles 
to be burned — not to be put away and preserved in other barns. 
There shall be not two folds, but one FOLD and one Shepherd. 

We hold that death is total extinction of life, the destruction 
of the organism — of the personality of the individual, and not 
the destruction of the materials that enter into the composition 
of the person. We hold that the way that leads to Eternal 
(Zoe) Life is strait and narrow; that man's (Zoe) Life does 
not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses; 
but that it depends upon his loving the Son of God and living 
the life He asks us to live, namely: to love the Lord with all 
our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as 
ourselves. 

The foundation principles of this (Zoe) Life are laid down 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 231 

in Christ's sermon on the mount (Mathew 5th, 6th, and 7th 
chapters) which to live in the every-day life will invariably 
bring about the fulfillment of every blessing and promise that 
God has ever made to man, regardless of whether man be 
conscious or unconscious that such promises exist. 

"Beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before 
of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told 
you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk 
after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate 
themselves (into little sects or factions), sensual, having not 
the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your 
most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in 
the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ 
unto Eternal (Zoe) Life" (Jude 17-25). 

"The candle of the wicked shall be put out" (Prov. 24:20). 

"The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction" (Job 
21:30). 

"He shall fry away as a dream and shall not be found" 
(Job 20:8). 

"He fleeth as a shadow and continueth not" (Job 14:2). 

"There is hope for a tree if it be cut down, that it will sprout 
again, but man dieth and wasteth away, yea, man giveth up the 
breath and where is he?" (Job 14:7-10). 

"Thus saith the Lord, Son of man I have made thee a watch- 
man unto the house of Israel, therefore hear the word at my 
mouth and give them warning from me. When I say unto the 
wicked, 'THOU SHALT SURELY DIE,' and thou givest him 
not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked 
way, to save his life — (not his soul, from eternal torment — but 
his life) — the same wicked man shall die — (not be in a living 
misery — but shall die) — in his iniquity; but his blood will I 
require at thine hand" (Ezek. 3 :i7~i8). 



232 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

Rev. E. Petavel says, "We are no longer compelled to con- 
ceive of God as possessing two different natures; on earth 
tender and beneficient, even repaying man's ingratitude and 
Avickedness by His mercies; but beyond the tomb, unmoved 
by the endless tortures and excruciating pains of His ene- 
mies. We read with horror the stories of the inquisition, 
or the relation of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards; of 
the Emperor Montezuma broiled on a gridiron over a slow 
fire; of the men tortured and driven mad by drops of water 
falling day and night upon their foreheads; but what are these 
agonies of a few days or hours, hideous and revolting as they 
may be, in comparison with a scorching fire, which, after mil- 
lions of ages, shall have only begun its work?" The dogma of 
everlasting torment did not creep into the Church until she 
yielded to the influence of Platonic philosophy. If we examine 
the writings of the Fathers, we find them all faithful to the 
Apostolic doctrine of the final destruction of the wicked." 

"The wages of sin is death" (not a living eternal misery" 
(Rom. 6:23). 

"As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death 
of the wicked, but let the wicked turn from his way and live; 
turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; for why will you die ?" 
(Ezek. 33:11), (Ezek. 18:20-32). 

The Scripture plainly declares that "no murderer hath Eternal 
Life abiding in him." (Then surely he can not be immortal.) 
"Let him know that he which converteth a sinner from the error 
of his way shall save a soul from DEATH. (If unconverted 
souls are liable to DEATH they can not be said to be DEATH- 
LESS.) 

"Thus saith the Lord, behold, I set before you the way of 
(Zoe) Life and the way of death." "Come, ye children, harken 
unto me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is 
he that desireth (Zoe) Life, and loveth many days, that he may 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 233 

see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speak- 
ing guile. Depart from evil and do good ; seek peace and pursue 
it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears 
are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them 
that do evil to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 
The righteous cry and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them 
cut of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are 
of a broken heart ; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many 
are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth him 
out of them all. He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is 
broken. Evil shall slay the wicked ; and they that hate the right- 
eous shall be desolate. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his ser- 
vants and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate" (Ps. 
34:11-22), (Sept. Ver.). 

"There ts none other name under heaven given among men 
whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12) from death unto Ever- 
lasting (Zoe) Life. 

"But ye will not come unto me that ye might have (Zoe) Life." 
Jesus is the door of Everlasting (Zoe) Life (John 14:6), (John 
10:1-11). 

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God is the power that leads 
men to open the door into the Kingdom (Rom. 1 :16.) The keys 
of the Kingdom are repentance toward man and God, and faith 
in our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 6:33). "If any man will to do 
His will he shall know of the Doctrine" (John 7:17), (2 Cor. 
8:10-11). 

"Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth to (Zoe) 
Life and few there be that find it." 

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my 
voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with 
him, and he with me" (Rev. 3:20-22). 



234 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

"Be ye also ready : for in such an hour as ye think not the Son 

of man cometh." 

"Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." 

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and* I 
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; for 
I am meek and lowly in heart :and ye shall find rest unto your 
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt. 
11:28-30). 

"Unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all 
that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 
unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all 
ages. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye 
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all 
lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one an- 
other in love ; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the 
bond of peace" (Eph. 3:20-21, 4:1-3). 

"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowl- 
edge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine 
power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto (Zoe) life 
and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us 
to glory and virtue : whereby are given unto us exceeding great and 
precious promises ; that by these ye might be partakers of the 
DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the 
world through lust. And, besides this, giving all diligence, add 
to your faith virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, 
temperance (self-control); and to temperance, patience ;and to 
patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to 
brotherly kindness,Divine love. For if these things be in you, 
and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor 
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that 
lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath 
forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the 



Both of the Just and the Unjust 23 5 



rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election 
sure ; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall : for so an en- 
trance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the Ever- 
lasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Where- 
fore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance 
of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the 
present truth" (2 Pet. 1:2-15), (1 Pet. 1:3-25). 



"Souls of men, why will ye scatter 

Like a crowd of frightened sheep?" 
Foolish hearts! why will ye wander 

From a love so true and deep? 
Was there ever kinder Shepherd, 

Half so gentle, half so sweet, 
As the Saviour who would have us 

Come and gather round His feet? 

"It is God! His love looks mighty, 

But is mightier than it seems : 
Tis our Father, and His fondness 

Goes far out beyond our dreams. 
There's a wideness in God's mercy, 

Like the wideness of the sea ; 
There's a kindness in His justice, 

Which is more than liberty. 

"There is no place where earth's sorrows 
Are more felt than up in heaven ; 

There is no place where earth's failings 
Have such kindly judgment given. 



236 The Hope and Resurrection of the Dead 

There is welcome for the sinner, 

And more graces for the good; 
There is mercy with the Saviour ; 

There is healing in His blood. 

"But we make His love too narrow, 

By false limits of our own; 
And we magnify His strictness 

With a zeal He will not own. 
There is plentiful redemption 

In the blood that has been shed; 
There is joy for all the members 

In the sorrows of the Head. 

"If our love were but more simple 

We should take Him at His word; 
And our lives would all be sunshine 

In the sweetness of our Lord. 
For the love of God is broader 

Than the measures of man's mind; 
And the heart of the Eternal 

Is most wonderfully kind." 

F. W. Faber. 



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